FREDERICTON -- A national civil liberties group has filed legal notice in the first stage of a suit against the New Brunswick for lack of access to abortion.

The Canadian Civil Liberties Association has sent a letter and statement of claim to the province's attorney general.

Michael Bryant, the group's executive director, says it wants the province to repeal its regulations on abortion and provide wider access to the procedure.

New Brunswick provides abortions at three hospitals but will not cover the cost of the procedure if it is performed at a private clinic.

Clinic 554 in Fredericton -- the former Morgentaler clinic -- has said it is closing because the province will not cover non-hospital abortions.

The letter to the province says New Brunswick's current law is discriminatory because it denies women, girls and transgender people fair access to abortion services.

This report by The Canadian Press was first published Oct. 30, 2020.