NB, Morgentaler head to court over abortion payments

Calling New Brunswick “the most reactionary province in Canada as far as women's rights go [and] as far as access to abortion goes,” Dr. Henry Morgentaler has decided to take the province to court in an attempt to force it to pay for abortions performed at his Fredericton clinic.

In his Oct. 23 announcement, Morgentaler, who operates 8 abortion clinics across Canada, said New Brunswick has been “violating the law of the country by discriminating against women, by denying them access to abortion services to which they are entitled under medicare.”

New Brunswick pays for abortions, but only if they are judged medically necessary by 2 physicians — one must be an obstetrician/gynecologist — and performed in approved hospitals. Abortions performed in private clinics such as Morgentaler's or in facilities outside the province are not covered.

Morgentaler says these requirements cause “a delay between the time a woman decides she wants an abortion and the time when she can get one, [and this] increases the danger.”

More than 3800 abortions have been performed at Morgentaler's Fredericton clinic since it opened in 1994. They currently cost from $475 to $725, depending on the stage of pregnancy. He estimates that the refusal to pay for private-clinic or out-of-province abortions has saved New Brunswick more than $16 million.

Morgentaler hopes a positive court result in New Brunswick will make abortions more accessible across the country. Currently, provincial governments pay the total cost of the procedure at his clinics in St. John's, Ottawa, Toronto and Edmonton. The cost is partly covered in Montreal and Halifax, and there is no coverage in Fredericton and Winnipeg. “If we win in 1 province we set a precedent, and the law will change and the practice across the country will change.”

Morgentaler says his legal costs may reach $1 million if the case eventually reaches the Supreme Court of Canada.

The Canadian Abortion Rights Action League (CARAL) supports Morgentaler's suit and is preparing to help fund it. “Fourteen years ago, we thought we'd won the battle for reproductive rights in Canada,” said Marilyn Wilson, executive director of CARAL. “We've woken up to the fact that over the last 10 years those rights have been declining enormously across the country because of actions by the antichoice movement, by the refusal of doctors to perform or refer for abortions, by the lack of hospital care and by the lack of payment for clinic abortions.”

New Brunswick Justice Minister Brad Green maintains that the province's Medical Services Payment Act, which has been in place since 1986, does not violate the Canada Health Act by refusing to pay for abortions performed outside of provincial hospitals. He also said the government is prepared to defend its position in court. — Tracey Thorne, Fredericton