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In the face of ongoing opposition, Quebec Justice Minister Simon Jolin-Barrette is backtracking on plans to enshrine the right to abortion in the proposed Quebec constitution.
In a statement to Radio-Canada, the minister’s office confirmed Jolin-Barrette intends to remove the article in question from the legislation during a detailed review of Bill 1.
Several groups had raised concerns that such a provision could open the door to legal challenges from anti-abortion groups, given that this right to abortion is already protected by Supreme Court of Canada (SCOC) rulings.
In 1988, the SCOC decriminalized abortion. Since then, abortion has been treated as a health-care service, not a criminal matter and no new legal framework governing abortion was enacted.
These concerns were communicated directly to the minister during public consultations into Bill 1, titled the Québec Constitution Act, 2025, as well as in the public sphere.
In an open letter published Friday in the Journal de Montréal, Jolin-Barrette detailed the reasoning that led him to include, and then remove, an additional safeguard to protect women’s free choice regarding abortion.
He said the government’s goal with the provision has always been to “defend women’s free choice.” To be consistent, he said the government must acknowledge the fears expressed by women.
WATCH | Relief among advocates as Quebec backtracks on enshrining abortion rights:
Quebec backtracks on plans to enshrine abortion rights in proposed constitution
The justice minister intends to remove Article 29 in the CAQ’s Bill 1. It would have enshrined abortion rights in the province’s proposed constitution. During consultations, groups raised concerns the provision could open the door to legal challenges.
Despite backing down, Jolin-Barrette said the erosion of women’s rights is a real concern, and pointed to the 2022 reversal of the Roe v. Wade decision in the United States.
“In Canada, the issue of abortion resurfaces with every federal election, and every year in Ottawa, motions or bills are introduced to tighten or recriminalize the right to abortion,” he said.
He added that while case law in Canada has been sufficient to protect women’s free choice so far, “it is fragmented and does not explicitly recognize a right to abortion,” and could be overturned.
In a news release, Quebec’s order of nurses saluted the minister’s decision, saying it will preserve stability and allow for efforts to be focused on the access to care that women really need.
The order said significant disparities still exist between the different regions of Quebec and more work needs to be done to improve access to abortion and contraception so that it is truly universal.
Civil rights group calls for Bill 1 to be scrapped
The Ligue des droits et libertés (LDL), a non-profit civil and human rights advocacy group, said in a news release on Friday that the criticisms levelled against Bill 1 go far beyond the issue of abortion rights.
“The minister of justice claims that his decision to withdraw Section 29 demonstrates his openness to criticism from civil society. However, Bill 1 is precisely designed to silence checks and balances,” said Laurence Guénette, LDL’s co-ordinator.
The bill as a whole has been widely criticized among legal experts and civil liberties groups, including LDL, who have warned it could centralize power, weaken judicial oversight and infringe on individual freedoms.
LDL said removing one provision from Bill 1 doesn’t make the legislation any more acceptable and is calling for it to be withdrawn in its entirety.