The current provincial goverment is willingly and maleciously not funding abortion clinics in NB  (as guaranteed by federal law) and access to this form of essential healthcare in the province of New-Brunswick endangers the lives of women.

New Brunswick is the only province in Canada that does not fund surgical abortions performed outside of hospital. The federal government says that the province’s unwillingness to fund out-of-hospital surgical abortions is a violation of the Canada Health Act.

No hospitals offer ready access to abortions in two of New Brunswick’s largest cities: Fredericton and Saint John. Individuals seeking to terminate a pregnancy often endure uncomfortable waits, undertake lengthy travel, and pay associated expenses to have the procedure. None of the three hospitals who do perform abortions, will perform a routine second-trimester abortion, meaning those who cannot secure an appointment in the earliest weeks of their pregnancy or who do not learn they are pregnant until after fourteen weeks must leave the province for the procedure.

Premier Higgs has implied in local media interviews that abortion clinics “are not what we value as a society” and insisted that access to abortion in the province is not an issue. 

In lieu of the current situation in the US, we demand that the provincial goverment properly fund clinics providing surgical abortions. Denial of healthcare services does not reflect our values as a society.