either margaret wente needs a fact-checker or the entire united states is a backwater

I usually avoid reading Margaret Wente, but this morning the Globe and Mail put her on the front page, so a bit filtered through. She writes:

It's right to honour Henry Morgentaler with the Order of Canada. He fought to make this country a better place for women, and he succeeded.

But those who either lionize or despise Dr. Morgentaler tend to miss the point. By the time he came along, the tectonic plates were well in motion. Hospital abortions had already been available for years – subject to approval by a medical committee. Dr. Morgentaler's achievement was to make abortion a woman's private choice, subject to no one's approval but her own.

Except for a few backwaters in the United States, safe, legal and accessible abortion is the norm throughout the Western world. It would be the norm in this country, too, regardless of Dr. Morgentaler's pioneering work. He's a symbol now, and the passions he arouses are the same ones aroused by Roe v. Wade in the U.S.

Emphasis added. And added and added. Here are your backwaters, Ms. Wente.

In 2000, 87% of US counties had no abortion provider. Thirty-four percent of women aged 15-44 live in those counties. Eighty-six of the US's 276 metropolitan areas had no provider.

Abortions in the United States cost anywhere from $400 to $4000, depending on the procedure. A first-trimester abortion costs more than a family on public assistance receives in a month.

Low-income women and girls often delay procedures as they try to borrow the money they need. (Not easy when most people you know live hand-to-mouth.) "Chasing the funds" - as it is known in the movement - often forces women into second-trimester procedures. Those procedures are more complicated, more risky - and much more expensive. It is not uncommon for women to carry an unwanted pregnancy to term because they cannot afford a simple first-trimester procedure.

These three states prohibit the use of any state funds for abortion whatsoever. They have refused to comply with a federal law requiring states to provide Medicaid funding for abortion in cases of life endangerment, rape or incest.
Alabama
Mississippi
South Dakota

These states fund abortion in cases of threat to life, rape or incest only. All must be proven in court.
Arizona
Arkansas
Colorado
Delaware
Florida
Georgia
Indiana
Kansas
Kentucky
Louisiana
Maine
Michigan
Missouri
Nebraska
Nevada
North Carolina
North Dakota
Ohio
Oklahoma
Pennsylvania
Rhode Island
South Carolina
Tennessee
Texas
Utah
Wyoming

These states will fund abortion where there is threat to a woman's life or health, rape, incest, and some other reasons, such as verifiable abuse or mental health issues. All require several court appearances.
Iowa
New Mexico
Virginia
Wisconsin

These states restrict abortion access by age, requiring mandatory parental notification or consent for minors. States are required to provide varying degrees of so-called "judicial bypass", meaning a young person can plead her case to a judge, who can then grant or deny her permission to obtain an abortion without parental notification or consent. Think about that one.
Alabama
Alaska
Arizona
Arkansas
Colorado
Delaware
Florida
Georgia
Idaho
Illinois
Indiana
Iowa
Kansas
Kentucky
Louisiana
Maine
Maryland
Massachusetts
Michigan
Minnesota
Mississippi
Missouri
Nebraska
North Carolina
North Dakota
Ohio
Oklahoma
Pennsylvania
Rhode Island
South Carolina
South Dakota
Tennessee
Texas
Virginia
West Virginia
Wisconsin
Wyoming

Every state not listed here has had parental consent or notification laws introduced in its legislature, which activists defeated, often by tiny margins. The mandatory judicial bypass clauses are also the result of court orders won by activism.

Before any parents reading this trot out the old "if my daughter was having an abortion, I would want to know" response, let's just say: of course. That's obvious. And if you want to know if your daughter is having sex, or fears she is pregnant, or needs an abortion, create a home environment where your children know they can come to you with any problem, and receive unconditional support and love, even if that love includes disapproval.

Many teens are not that fortunate. I know from first-hand experience that in a home where young people fear abuse, including one's parents in decisions about sex and pregnancy is simply not an option. For their own health and safety, girls must be able to obtain abortions without telling their parents, and no state law is going to change that.

These states require women seeking abortions to register, then wait 24 or 48 hours before receiving a procedure.
Alabama
Arkansas
Georgia
Idaho
Kansas
Kentucky
Louisiana
Michigan
Minnesota
Mississippi
Nebraska
North Dakota
Ohio
Oklahoma
Pennsylvania
South Carolina
South Dakota
Texas
Utah
West Virginia
Virginia
Wisconsin

On first glance, a waiting period may seem innocuous. But for a low-income woman who must arrange child care and transportation, and travel a long distance to an abortion provider, the mandatory waiting period means one or more overnight stays, all of which she has to pay for - and none of which she can afford. If she is trying to terminate a pregnancy against the wishes of an abusive partner, an overnight stay can be the difference between life and death.

State-mandated waiting periods are condescending and demeaning, as they assume women cannot think for themselves and are requesting abortions in some kind of momentary fit of non-reason.

Only procedures relating to reproduction are subject to mandatory waiting periods. No other elective medical procedures are regulated by such laws.

These states prohibit private insurance coverage for abortion.
Idaho
Kentucky
Missouri
North Dakota

These states exclude abortion coverage from state health care programs.
Illinois
Montana

These states have spousal consent or notification laws. All spousal consent/notification laws have been ruled unconstitutional, and are therefore unenforceable, but they remain state laws.
Colorado
Illinois
Kentucky
Louisiana
North Dakota
Pennsylvania
Rhode Island
South Carolina

Like the parental consent/notification laws, many more states have had spousal/partner consent laws debated and defeated in their legislatures.

* * * *

Ms Wente says: "Except for a few backwaters in the United States, safe, legal and accessible abortion is the norm throughout the Western world."

Does this seem like a "few backwaters" to you? Does it look like abortion is accessible in the United States?

Without access, the right to abortion is meaningless.

* * * *

All facts in this post are verifiable at these reliable sources:
Human Rights Watch
The Guttmacher Institute
Planned Parenthood Federation of America
NARAL Pro-Choice America
National Network of Abortion Funds
National Coalition of Abortion Providers
American Civil Liberties Union

Although I didn't use it for this post, Wikipedia's entry on abortion in the United States is quite good.