“The McGill Students’ Council affirms the principle that the student, like any other citizen, has the right to information and counselling about birth control, as well as to any contraceptive device he may require,” a 1967 McGill Students’ Council decision reads.
With this decision, the McGill Students’ Council, the precursor to the Students’ Society of McGill University (SSMU), acknowledged that access to contraception was a legal right—nearly two years before the government of Canada reached the same conclusion. These students’ decision represented not only a remarkable act of civil disobedience but also set a precedent for making contraception more accessible within the university’s gates.