NB's shrinking abortion access

Publicly-funded abortions in jeopardy after
services cut at Fredericton hospital

By Craig Silverman

Within a week of the announcement, two physicians stepped forward to say they were willing to take up the gauntlet. "Our focus now is on continuing to meet with those doctors and with their respective regional health authorities to ensure that there is as seamless a transition as possible at the end of June," provincial health minister Brad Green announced on May 25. But critics say the last-minute save won't cure the province of its lack of commitment to abortion access.

step back
Many NB physicians feel that the province's unequal access violates both the Canada Health Act and the landmark 1988 Supreme Court of Canada decision that held provinces must pay for abortions. "I think it is a step backward if publicly funded therapeutic abortion is not available anymore in New Brunswick," Dr Mary Jarratt, one of the province's more outspoken FPs, told the Telegraph-Journal. "Certainly, the whole issue of access has been a problem for a long time that many of us are concerned about."

New Brunswick is currently the only Canadian province that won't pay for abortions performed in private clinics. It's also the only province that requires women seeking a publicly funded abortion to obtain a referral from two physicians who declare the procedure is "medically necessary."

AFFIRMATIVE ACTION
"Access to abortions has always been difficult in New Brunswick," says Dr Henry Morgentaler. That's why the Canadian physician and abortion rights crusader established a clinic in Fredericton 15 years ago.

Last year Dr Morgentaler's New Brunswick clinic welcomed an estimated 600 patients, who each coughed up as much as $750 for the procedure. The Chalmers performed roughly 400 abortions during the same period.

With the government still refusing to foot the bill, Dr Morgentaler launched a lawsuit against the province in 2003. The case is still pending. The former Liberal government also initiated conflict resolution proceedings to make the province cover the cost, but that too has been bogged down by red tape. Through a spokesperson, federal Health Minister Tony Clement said that he is "aware of the situation and looking into it."

The province is still open to discussions with the federal government, says Johanne Leblanc, a spokesperson for NB's health minister. "The ball is in their court and we're awaiting word from them," she adds.

NO MD, NO ABORTION
Shelley Fletcher, a spokesperson for the Chalmers hospital, says the decision to stop offering therapeutic abortions was a result of workload, not politics.

When the South East Regional Health Authority in Moncton — which performed about 600 abortions a year — announced it would no longer offer the procedure in 2002, the Chalmers became the hub of the province's publicly funded abortion program. Of the 404 abortions recorded in the province last year, 400 were conducted by the River Valley Health Authority in Fredericton, most at the Dr Everett Chalmers Hospital.

"There's great demand for ob/gyns throughout the entire program and this is what prompted the decision," says Ms Fletcher.

She wouldn't say how many doctors were performing abortions at the hospital but she did admit there are "nine or 10" physicians in the department.

For security reasons, the health department won't identify the two physicians who stepped forward to offer abortion services in the province, nor will it say where they are located. "It's a matter of safety for the specialists and for the patients," says Ms LeBlanc. "The women who need to have access [to abortions] will be made aware of that information."

HIT THE ROAD
Dr Morgentaler says the current situation is unacceptable and as a result, women from New Brunswick often travel to his clinic in Montreal. He also notes that women from Prince Edward Island, who often travelled to the Chalmers for the service because no hospitals in PEI offer abortions, will also see their options slashed by the decision.

"I hope that the situation will improve through the conflict resolution system getting back on track, or my litigation with the province being resolved," Dr Morgentaler adds. "In the meantime, women in New Brunswick have to suffer."

"This has nothing to do with the argument of whether [abortion] is right or wrong," Dr Jarret said in the Telegraph-Journal. "There will always be people on extreme ends of this, but the issue of access to a procedure that is presently publicly funded has been unequal for a very long time."