Join the Morgentaler Committee: Advancing Reproductive Justice Through Humanist Action

The Morgentaler Committee of Humanist Canada is inviting new volunteers to join our work in reproductive justice. If you believe that people should be trusted to make decisions about their own bodies, health, families, and futures, there is a place for you in this committee.

Reproductive freedom is not an abstract principle. It affects people’s everyday lives, including their access to healthcare, education, employment, family stability, equality, and personal autonomy. Our purpose is to help normalize informed, respectful conversations about reproductive and sexual health while advocating for justice for everyone in a humanist way. 

In Canada, many assume that reproductive healthcare is fully accessible because abortion is legal. The reality is more complicated. Access to reproductive or sexual healthcare still depends on geography, income, transportation, accurate information, stigma, language, age, and the availability of trained providers. For people in rural, remote, northern, Indigenous, racialized, low-income, or otherwise underserved communities, reproductive choice can still be difficult to exercise in practice.

The Morgentaler Committee exists because rights require more than legal recognition. They require public education, practical information, civic vigilance, and sustained advocacy. Decisions about pregnancy, contraception, abortion, fertility, parenting, and healthcare belong to the people directly affected, not to governments, faith-based organizations, or political movements seeking to control bodily autonomy.

Committee members often speak about the satisfaction of knowing their time is spent on something larger than themselves. Every article shared, podcast episode produced, conversation opened, public statement made, or resource developed helps push back against misinformation, stigma, and complacency. This work reminds people that reproductive justice is not secured once and for all. It must be explained, normalized, defended, and strengthened.

Our work includes public education, podcast production, advocacy planning, research, outreach, resource development, and coalition-building. Through projects such as the Choice Chat podcast, we foster accessible conversations on abortion care, contraception, reproductive rights, access barriers, stigma, legal protections, and lived experience. We also support public statements, newsletter content, social media messaging, and partnerships with organizations advancing sexual and reproductive health and rights.

Volunteers do not need to be experts in law, medicine, communications, or public policy. The committee benefits from a wide range of skills and perspectives. Some volunteers help with writing, editing, research, outreach, podcast planning, social media, event support, administration, or project coordination. Others bring lived experience, community knowledge, professional expertise, or a commitment to learning. What matters most is a willingness to contribute thoughtfully and consistently to work that has clear social value.

This committee is important to Humanist Canada because reproductive justice is fundamentally a humanist concern. Humanism affirms reason, evidence, compassion, bodily autonomy, freedom of conscience, and respect for human dignity. It rejects the imposition of religious doctrine on public policy and insists that ethical decisions be grounded in the people’s real lives and needs.

In public debates often shaped by ideology, misinformation, religious pressure, and political opportunism, a clear humanist voice is essential. The Morgentaler Committee helps Humanist Canada speak with that voice. It demonstrates that humanism is not only a philosophy, but a public commitment to dignity, fairness, equality, and justice.

We are looking for volunteers who want to act on their values. Whether you can offer a few hours a month or take on a defined project, your contribution matters. You may be a writer, researcher, communicator, organizer, healthcare professional, student, retired professional, advocate, or simply someone who believes that reproductive freedom must be protected and expanded.

Join the Morgentaler Committee and help strengthen the voice of humanism in Canada. Help us advocate for a society where reproductive justice is recognized not as a privilege, but as a necessary condition of equality, dignity, and freedom.