Download Transgressing the Binary

Author: Clémence Thabet

Abstract

With the onslaught of anti-trans legislation in the United States and the repeal of Roe v Wade, a common American sentiment is to turn to its Canadian neighbours in search of better protections. But is Canada really a safe haven for trans reproductive justice? This article engages with the intersection of reproductive rights and trans rights to pinpoint a series of ongoing legal hurdles to trans reproductive justice in Canada: the medicalization of gender identity, the gendering of pregnancy and the inaccessibility of non-normative family models. In order to prevent a phenomenon of passive trans sterilization, this article recommends a series of legal and policy measures including untangling gender affirming care from diagnoses of dysphoria, funding virtual trans healthcare, understanding pregnancy as a disability rather than inherently linked to sex and prioritizing kith-based models of family building.

Resume

Clémence Thabet graduated with their J.D. at the University of Ottawa in 2023 and was recently called to the bar in 2024. They will be practicing as a litigator in Toronto at a union-side labour firm. They would like to thank the editors at the Canadian Journal of Human Rights for their hard work and the peer reviewers for their indispensable feedback, as well as Professors Vanessa Gruben and Stefanie Carsley, who taught the reproductive justice course at the University of Ottawa, during which Clémence wrote the first draft of this article.

Recommended Citation

Clémence Thabet, “Transgressing the Binary, Transforming Policy and Transcending the Family: Towards a Framework for Trans Reproductive Justice in Canada” (2024) 12:1 Can J Hum Rts 27, online: <https://cjhr.ca/download/3083/?tmstv=1732633692&v=3084>.