A small but boisterous group of Winnipeggers held a demonstration on May 14 to mark the 40th anniversary of federal legislation that made abortion legal in Canada.

On May 14, 1969, Parliament passed an omnibus bill that amended the Criminal Code of Canada to decriminalize divorce, contraception, homosexuality and, in some circumstances, abortion.

Proposed by Pierre Trudeau (who, in its defense, made the now-famous statement, "there's no place for the state in the bedrooms of the nation"), Bill C-150 allowed women to obtain abortions, but only if they could prove to a panel of three doctors that continuing with their pregnancies would endanger their lives.

This requirement meant that many Canadian women were still unable to access abortion services. However, the amendment was the first step towards the complete decriminalization of abortion, which happened 19 years later, in 1988, when the Supreme Court of Canada ruled the existing law unconstitutional.

Last week's Winnipeg demonstration was organized by the M.S. Citizenship Collective, a grassroots feminist group formed last year. About 40 women and men gathered outside a local crisis pregnancy centre on Broadway, chanting pro-choice slogans, passing out pamphlets and waving signs at passing traffic.

One of the action's goals was to publicly reaffirm the need to keep abortion legal, free, safe and accessible - things many in the crowd said were under attack from the current Conservative government.

"Women's rights are being eroded on all kinds of fronts by the Harper government - not only just funding and pay equity and those kinds of issues, but also women's autonomy over their own lives, and that includes women's autonomy over their own bodies," said Fiona Green, one of several University of Winnipeg professors who participated in the demonstration.

"A lot of the girls that we teach in our classrooms have no understanding of what it's like to like in a world without free, accessible abortions and don't understand what it's like to live in fear of being pregnant," said Shannon Sampert, a professor of politics at the U of W.

"I think that Harper can take advantage of that."

Last year, a private member's bill which many feminists saw as an attempt to reopen the abortion debate passed multiple readings in the House of Commons before being quashed when the last election was called.

"The concern, even more so, is if these guys win a majority," Sampert added. "Right now they have to play nice."

Demonstrators also worked to raise awareness about crisis pregnancy centres - organizations run by people who are morally opposed to abortion and who work to dissuade pregnant women from choosing this option.

"A lot of crisis pregnancy centres don't give out accurate information," said Sarah Granke, one of the event's organizers. "They don't present abortion as an option at all, and if you ask about it, a lot people get really, really negative responses. They have a very, very anti-choice mandate."

Demonstrators wrote chalk messages on the sidewalk and decorated the area with coat hangers - a reminder of the crude tools used before medical abortions were legal; many women died from complications such as hemorrhaging or infections.

The group then marched to the Legislature, leaving behind signs in advance of a pro-life march that was set to arrive from The Forks later in the evening.

Similar actions drawing attention to the significance of May 14 - both pro-choice demonstrations and pro-life marches - were held in cities across Canada.