April
10, 2014
The following is a press release prepared
by the Morgentaler Clinic in Fredericton.
En français: http://www.arcc-cdac.ca/fr/action/NB-clinique-ferme.html
FREDERICTON
MORGENTALER CLINIC – BACKGROUNDER
From the moment Dr.
Morgentaler announced his intention to open an abortion clinic
in Fredericton, the provincial government planned to thwart
his efforts. The
premier at the time, Frank McKenna, stated that: “if Mr.
Morgentaler tries to open a clinic in the province of New
Brunswick, he’s going to get the fight of his life.”
Subsequent New Brunswick governments have continued to block
access to abortion services in New Brunswick.
Dr. Morgentaler was immune
to their threats. He
had already survived jail, threats against his life and the
bombing of his Toronto clinic.
The actions of the N.B. government only served to
strengthen his resolve to ensure that New Brunswick women
would have access to safe abortion care in his clinic and that
no woman would be turned away regardless of her ability to
pay. The
Morgentaler Clinic opened in June, 1994 and since then has
provided abortion services to more than 10,000 women in a
non-judgmental, evidence based, and professional environment.
The main obstacle the New
Brunswick government created for New Brunswick women who
needed to access abortions was, and still is, Regulation
84-20, Schedule 2(a.1). It states that an abortion will only
be covered by Medicare if:
1.
It is
performed in a hospital by a specialist in the field of
obstetrics or gynaecology and that
2.
Two
doctors have certified in writing that the procedure is
‘medically necessary’.
Note: The federal
government or the courts have never defined what ‘medically
necessary’ means, other than the circular definition in the Canada Health Act –
“medically necessary is that which is physician performed”. The provinces decide
what is medically necessary under the Act, by creating a list
of insured services, which are then automatically deemed
medically necessary. With
respect to abortion it does not mean ‘only if there is a
threat to the mother or the foetus’. New Brunswick
acknowledges that abortion is a ‘medically necessary’
procedure by permitting abortions in some hospitals. The same definition
applies to clinics.
The practical consequence
of this regulation is that, unlike in any other Canadian
province with stand-alone clinics, abortions provided at the
Morgentaler Clinic in Fredericton are not funded by Medicare.
Many women who need to
access abortions at the Clinic cannot pay. Most financial
support comes directly from the Clinic. The National Abortion
Federation provides limited financial support. The amount of
financial assistance provided by the Clinic speaks eloquently
to the impact Regulation 84-20 has on women living on
assistance, single family mothers in minimum wage jobs,
students with no income, and women living in abusive
relationships.
After 20 years, the
Fredericton Morgentaler Clinic will be closing its doors.
Regulation 84-20 remains on the books and New Brunswick women
will now have no option to access abortions in the province
except by meeting its discriminatory and medically
unjustifiable requirements.
Had the province provided
funding for clinic abortions, or paid for abortions for women
without ability to pay, the Clinic would not be closing. To
make matters worse, Regulation 84-20 makes it impossible for
the majority of New Brunswick women to access an abortion in
one of the two hospitals where this service is provided. Here’s why:
·
Many
women do not have a family doctor.
·
Many
women have a family doctor who is not pro-choice and will not
make a referral. (The same physicians, some in positions of
considerable influence, may refuse birth control for their
patients.)
·
Hospitals
have long wait lists. This often means that women will be past
the hospital’s 14 week gestation limit, effectively denying
them the right to an abortion.
·
The
need for two separate visits makes it difficult for women who
must arrange child care, take time off work, or find someone
to drive them.
·
Women
are concerned about the lack of confidentiality in the
hospital, especially in small communities.
The Morgentaler Clinic is closing for the
following reasons:
·
Many
women are unable to pay for their abortions. As a result, the
clinic revenue has never met expenses. Shortfalls were made up
by Dr. Morgentaler personally.
In the past ten years the clinic has contributed over
$105,400 to subsidize abortions for women unable to pay the
full amount.
·
The
2008 flood caused damage to the clinic totalling more than
$100,000. Many
downtown businesses received some compensation but the clinic
was denied any because it was not owned by a resident of New
Brunswick. Had
Dr. Morgentaler not paid for the required repairs to keep the
clinic open, the clinic would have closed in 2008.
·
The
clinic cannot continue to provide abortion services that are
not publically funded.
WHAT THE CLOSURE MEANS FOR NEW BRUNSWICK WOMEN
Most women will not be
able to access a publically funded hospital abortion in New
Brunswick. The
only option is for them to travel out of province to clinics
in Quebec, Ontario or Maine.
If they cannot pay $700.00 today in New Brunswick, it
is unlikely they will be able to find the money to travel out
of province, pay for the abortion plus the costs of a hotel,
meals, and childcare expenses.
And, because New Brunswick excludes abortion from
interprovincial reciprocal billing, any woman who resides in
New Brunswick that goes to another province will have to pay
herself. If she
moves to another province and requires an abortion, she will
pay out of pocket until she establishes permanent residency in
the other province. Women
who are already over the clinic’s 16 week limit will lose the
clinic’s assistance in getting access to services in other
provinces where abortions over 16 weeks are performed.
THE SOLUTION
The New Brunswick
government should join the rest of Canada. The government must
repeal Regulation 84/20.
They enacted it with the stroke of a pen, they can take
it away with the stroke of a pen. There needs to be
improved access to hospitals throughout the province. The women of New
Brunswick should receive the same care as women elsewhere in
Canada when it comes to their reproductive health. The denial of
abortion services is an abuse of power and demonstrates a
blatant lack of concern for the health of women. Concerns have
already been raised about women checking on the internet for
solutions to an unplanned pregnancy. Do we really want to
go back to the days when women died from botched or
self-induced abortions?
The government must
designate and fund multiple access points across the province
where women can find reliable and comprehensive information
they need when considering whether or not to terminate a
pregnancy. These
access points must offer information in confidence and in a
non-judgmental manner. The public health care consequences of
leaving women at the mercy of anti-choice misinformation and
harassment will otherwise be devastating.
Dr. Morgentaler’s motto
was “Every Mother A Willing Mother; Every Child a Wanted
Child”. If he
could make this possible for women and their families, surely
the Government of New Brunswick can do the same.
For further information contact:
Simone Leibovitch, Clinic Manager 451-5060
For more background
information on the situation in New Brunswick, go to the
Abortions Rights Coalition of Canada website – www.arcc-cdac.ca.