Within Canada two major policies have been implemented regarding abortion. These include the political stance of decriminalizing abortion in 1988 and the health care stance, whereas abortion is publicly funded (Kaposy, 2009).
However, despite these policies there are still barriers women face in relation to abortion. As social workers, we play a direct role in facilitating positive policy development. As professionals we have direct knowledge on the impact social problems and policies have. Therefore, we are the first to advocate for change at the initiation stage of policy making as we are the ones who identify the problem (Van Ngo, 2017).
However, despite these policies there are still barriers women face in relation to abortion. As social workers, we play a direct role in facilitating positive policy development. As professionals we have direct knowledge on the impact social problems and policies have. Therefore, we are the first to advocate for change at the initiation stage of policy making as we are the ones who identify the problem (Van Ngo, 2017).