January 1977

The final report of the Committee on the Operation of the Abortion Law was presented to the federal government in January 1977. The report is frequently referred to as “the Badgley Report” after the committee chair. The committee found that, because of the administrative requirements imposed by s. 251 of the Criminal Code, in combination with the number of hospital boards that declined to establish a Therapeutic Abortion Committee (TAC), the system caused delays and operated inequitably depending on where people lived. The committee’s findings would be cited by the Supreme Court in its reasons for striking down s. 251 in R v Morgentaler, 1988.