Her obituary requested donations to an abortion clinic. It's a final political act for many

At first glance, Kathleen Dyer's obituary might seem like any other.

Beneath the photo of a smiling, older woman, we learn the basics: Dyer, who was living in Halifax, died on June 14 at age 84. She is survived by her husband, her son and his wife, and two sisters-in-law. But it's the third and final line that stands out: In lieu of flowers, Dyer asked for donations to the Nova Scotia Women's Choice Clinic.

The clinic, which performs medical and surgical abortions, doesn't know Dyer, except that she had once sent them a donation. And Dyer, who dedicated her life to supporting her husband and raising her children, wasn't a known abortion advocate.

She's one of a number of people who've made donations to the pro-choice movement in the aftermath of the U.S. Supreme Court's decision last year to overturn Roe v. Wade, whether it's in their lifetime, or after.

"My mom was definitely a proponent for women's rights in her own way," Kathleen's son, Steve Dyer, told CBC News.

"She's not an advocate or a vocalist or anything like that. But in her own way, when she sees something that she supports, then she'll let everyone else know, myself included."

Bequeaths are becoming more common at Action Canada for Sexual Health and Rights, said Frederique Chabot, the acting executive director of the charitable organization. A lot of their supporters are people who have fought for abortion rights throughout the 1960s, '70s and '80s, and who feel very strongly about safeguarding those rights, Chabot said.

"In the last year especially, of course, since the reversal of Roe v. Wade in the United States, that has really shone a light on the fact that progress is not always linear," Chabot said.

"It has rekindled a lot of passion around some of the work that people did when they were younger, some of the fights that they fought."

In general, donations to abortion clinics and advocacy organizations in Canada have increased in the last few years, said Jill Doctoroff, the executive director of the National Abortion Federation (NAF) Canada. 

She said she was recently contacted regarding an individual who wanted to make a $25,000 donation to a clinic. And NAF Canada itself has received more gifts in the last year than in previous years, she added. 

Bequeathments are harder to track, but Doctoroff said she knows of at least two people who asked for donations to NAF Canada in lieu of flowers after their deaths — and she suspects this may increase.

"I wouldn't be surprised if we see [it more] in 10, 15, 20 years, especially in the time we've been in in the last couple of years, with all the restrictions on abortions in the United States," Doctoroff said.

There was a surge in donations known as "rage giving" in the aftermath of the U.S. Supreme Court's decision last year to overturn Roe v. Wade. When the news first leaked of the pending decision in May, NARAL Pro-Choice America, a non-profit that received $12.9 million US in donations in fiscal year 2021, saw a 1,403 per cent increase in donations in the 24 hours after compared to the day before, according to Reuters.