“Rights Talk,” Abortion, and the Media: Tracking the Evolution of Abortion Discourse in Saskatchewan Newspapers

Abstract

This article provides empirical data on the public discourse surrounding abortion in Saskatchewan. Through an analysis of newspaper articles from two time periods—the dawn of the Charter era and three decades after Morgentaler—this article considers how abortion is framed in these accounts and whether, when “rights” terminology is employed, rights are presented as absolute or limited. This article adds to the empirical body of work documenting the presence of “rights talk” in Canada and the literature on the media’s framing of abortion.