Abortion Rights Group Raises Alarm Over New Misinformation Campaigns on Social Media

Pro-Choice Organization Warns of Misleading Anti-Abortion Campaign Videos

One of Canada’s leading pro-choice organizations has raised concerns about a series of social media videos they claim distort public perception of abortion access in the country.

Over the past ten days, pro-life advocacy group RightNow has released several videos on social media showing co-founder Alissa Golob allegedly speaking with staff at four Canadian clinics in 2023 about obtaining an abortion. The videos, which have garnered hundreds of thousands of views, include footage from clinics in Toronto, Montreal, and Vancouver.

In an interview with TorontoToday, Golob acknowledged she was not genuinely seeking an abortion two years ago but secretly recorded the interactions on her phone. She stated her aim was to demonstrate that “late-term” abortions occur in Canada and aren’t exclusively reserved for women with medical complications.

Frederique Chabot, executive director of Action Canada for Sexual Health and Rights (formerly Planned Parenthood Canada), criticized the campaign, saying it employs “American tactics” designed to portray abortion in Canada as a “back-alley, sketchy thing” performed by unscrupulous doctors.

“The reality couldn’t be further from the truth,” Chabot said, emphasizing that abortion in Canada is a legal, regulated healthcare procedure performed by trained physicians.

Chabot expressed concern that such “propaganda” is increasingly common in Canada, following the same playbook used by anti-abortion activists in the United States, where the Supreme Court overturned Roe v. Wade in 2022, removing federal constitutional protection for abortion.

The timing of the video release has also drawn scrutiny. Chabot suggested RightNow deliberately published the campaign to influence an upcoming November vote by Alberta’s governing United Conservative Party (UCP) on a resolution to halt funding for third-trimester abortions in the province, except where the mother’s physical health is at serious risk.

“They’re trying to get the public riled up to support that,” Chabot said. “The timing is very well coordinated.”

While Golob denied this allegation, attributing the two-year delay in publishing to personal and professional commitments, she acknowledged the timing was “fortuitous” regarding the UCP resolution. RightNow’s stated mission is to elect pro-life politicians to implement pro-life policies. The videos link to a petition calling on Prime Minister Mark Carney to restrict late-term abortions, which has gathered approximately 3,200 signatures.

One of the most-viewed videos focuses on Toronto’s Cabbagetown Women’s Clinic, which Golob allegedly visited about two years ago. The eight-minute video, which has been viewed more than 100,000 times on X (formerly Twitter), opens with text stating that RightNow’s representative went “undercover” at the clinic at approximately 22 weeks pregnant to expose “Canada’s late-term abortion industry.”

In Canada, abortion is legal with no gestational limits. According to the federal government and the Abortion Rights Coalition of Canada, the vast majority of abortions—about 87 percent—occur during the first 12 weeks of pregnancy, with late-term procedures being rare.

Chabot characterized the videos as “disinformation,” deliberately lacking essential context and using misleading, emotionally manipulative editing techniques. She noted the Toronto video’s focus on the alleged $2,150 cost and cash-only payment seems designed to portray abortions as “nefarious,” without mentioning that most Canadians are covered by provincial health insurance for such procedures.

In a shorter TikTok video, Golob explained the out-of-pocket payment was allegedly required because, as an Alberta resident, she wouldn’t be covered under Ontario’s health insurance—a detail omitted from the main video.

Dr. Lynn Murphy-Kaulbeck, president of the Society of Obstetricians and Gynaecologists of Canada, also condemned the videos as harmful to medical professionals and women. “It makes women look like bad women, and like they don’t care,” she said. “It puts women out as bad people for taking control over their reproductive life.”

Murphy-Kaulbeck emphasized that decisions about abortion should remain “between a woman and her physician,” not influenced by politicians or advocacy groups, and cautioned that such videos are often selectively edited to omit important context.

Although Golob indicated during her TorontoToday interview that she would provide the unedited recording from the Toronto clinic visit, she did not share this material prior to publication.