N.B. health workers launch abortion care network on Morgentaler anniversary
Health-care providers in New Brunswick are launching a new abortion services network ahead of Saturday's 35th anniversary of the Supreme Court's Morgentaler decision.
The New Brunswick Abortion Care Network's 20 founding members -- who are in nursing, pharmacy, family medicine and obstetrics -- aim to increase access to and awareness of provincial abortion care, said Martha Paynter, a nursing professor and spokesperson for the new group.
"The most important thing is for the public to understand that abortion is normal, safe and common," said Paynter, who teaches at the University of New Brunswick in Fredericton.
Despite provincial restrictions that only fund surgical abortions at three hospitals, safe and accessible medication abortions are widely available across the province, she said.
The network is being launched 35 years after the Jan. 28, 1988, Supreme Court of Canada ruling that upheld an acquittal of abortion advocate Henry Morgentaler and struck down the law that criminalized abortion.
In 2017, New Brunswick became the first province to publicly fund medication abortions, in which a pregnancy is ended by taking two pills.
New Brunswickers can access abortions through primary care services, or they can self-refer to the province's three family planning centres.
The province is home to Clinic 554 in Fredericton -- the former Morgentaler clinic -- which offers abortions, but at an out-of-pocket cost of up to $850.
Paynter said the new network's two major goals are to ensure that residents are aware of the options available and to promote abortion-care training among health professionals across New Brunswick.
"It's wonderful that any family doctor or nurse practitioner could in theory prescribe (a medication abortion), but finding those providers who are confident and competent to do so can be a challenge for patients," she said.
As well, Paynter said the group would like to help broaden the conversation around abortion to include other barriers to care. These include the lack of rural public transit to get people to medical appointments, and the long wait times before new New Brunswickers can secure provincial health cards.
"Let's make this conversation a lot bigger," she said.
"We want to change the conversation to something that is positive, inclusive and that results in expedited access to quality abortion care."
This report by The Canadian Press was first published Jan. 26, 2023.
This story was produced with the financial assistance of the Meta and Canadian Press News Fellowship.
CTVNews.ca Top Stories
Quebec nurse had to clean up after husband's death in Montreal hospital
On a night she should have been mourning, a nurse from Quebec's Laurentians region says she was forced to clean up her husband after he died at a hospital in Montreal.
Northern Ont. lawyer who abandoned clients in child protection cases disbarred
A North Bay, Ont., lawyer who abandoned 15 clients – many of them child protection cases – has lost his licence to practise law.
Bank of Canada officials split on when to start cutting interest rates
Members of the Bank of Canada's governing council were split on how long the central bank should wait before it starts cutting interest rates when they met earlier this month.
Maple Leafs fall to Bruins in Game 3, trail series 2-1
Brad Marchand scored twice, including the winner in the third period, and added an assist as the Boston Bruins downed the Toronto Maple Leafs 4-2 to take a 2-1 lead in their first-round playoff series Wednesday
Cuban government apologizes to Montreal-area family after delivering wrong body
Cuba's foreign affairs minister has apologized to a Montreal-area family after they were sent the wrong body following the death of a loved one.
'It was instant karma': Viral video captures failed theft attempt in Nanaimo, B.C.
Mounties in Nanaimo, B.C., say two late-night revellers are lucky their allegedly drunken antics weren't reported to police after security cameras captured the men trying to steal a heavy sign from a downtown business.
What is changing about Canada's capital gains tax and how does it impact me?
The federal government's proposed change to capital gains taxation is expected to increase taxes on investments and mainly affect wealthy Canadians and businesses. Here's what you need to know about the move.
New Indigenous loan guarantee program a 'really big deal,' Freeland says at Toronto conference
Canada's Deputy Prime Minister Chrystia Freeland was among the 1,700 delegates attending the two-day First Nations Major Projects Coalition (FNMPC) conference that concluded Tuesday in Toronto.
'Life was not fair to him': Daughter of N.B. man exonerated of murder remembers him as a kind soul
The daughter of a New Brunswick man recently exonerated from murder, is remembering her father as somebody who, despite a wrongful conviction, never became bitter or angry.