For any other use, including reproduction, storage in a retrieval system or transmission in any form or by any means, please complete our form . If your browser does not support forms, please send an email message to the Permissions Coordinator . Induced abortion is the active termination of a pregnancy before fetal viability. The decision to perform an induced abortion is a medical one, made confidentially between the patient and her physician within the confines of existing Canadian law. The decision is made after conscientious examination of all other options.
Induced abortion requires medical and surgical expertise and is a medical act.
It should be performed only in a facility that meets approved medical standards, not necessarily a hospital. In this context viability is the ability of the fetus to survive independently of the maternal environment. In January 1988 the Supreme Court of Canada struck down section 251 of the Criminal Code of Canada . The CMA's position is that there is no need for this section to be replaced. The following are the CMA's positions in other matters related to induced abortion.