Book Launch: Lawless
Schedule
Tue, 17 Feb, 2026 at 07:00 pm
UTC-07:00Location
1302 4 St SW #100, Calgary, AB, Canada, Alberta T2R 0X8 | Calgary, AB
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Join Dr. Martha Paynter in conversation with Dr. Erin Brennand, Calgary-based gynaecologist, for the launch of Lawless: Abortion Under Complete Decriminalization. The talk will be followed by an author signing with copies of the book available for purchase through Shelf Life Books.Grab your copy here: https://shorturl.at/hcGBx
ABOUT LAWLESS
Canada is the only country with complete decriminalization of abortion: no gestational duration limitations, no parental consent obligations, and no waiting periods. In recent years, other countries (New Zealand, Colombia, Uruguay, Mexico) have made strides toward this, while the United States has notoriously lost ground. Amidst the tumult, nurse and scholar Martha Paynter uses historical context and contemporary issues to explain why experts advocate against laws governing abortion.
Despite decriminalization, Canadian federal and provincial legislation and regulations about health funding, delivery, and human rights all shape how abortion care is delivered. Barriers persist in uneven access, unclear information, and belief-based denial of care. In accessible plain language from the expansive perspective of a clinician, researcher and activist, Paynter describes abortion policy, practice and experience and discusses how to resolve challenges that continue more than three decades after Canada became the world's most legally progressive jurisdiction for abortion.
ABOUT THE AUTHOR
Dr. Martha Paynter is a writer, nurse and public scholar, recognized internationally for expertise in reproductive justice and prisoner health. Paynter is an associate professor in the Faculty of Nursing at University of New Brunswick and the author of Abortion to Abolition: Reproductive Health and Justice in Canada (2022) and Lawless: Abortion Under Complete Decriminalization (2025)
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Where is it happening?
1302 4 St SW #100, Calgary, AB, Canada, Alberta T2R 0X8Event Location & Nearby Stays:
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