FREDERICTON, Jan 17, 2001 (LSN.ca) – A majority of New Brunswick residents feel that abortions performed at private clinics should not be funded by the Province of New Brunswick, according to a new poll. The federal government is currently putting pressure on New Brunswick to pay for abortions at the Morgentaler Clinic in Fredericton. But in the province-wide poll carried out by Corporate Research Associates, 58% say they oppose such funding. Only 31% say they are in favour.
Majority opposition to funding spans all age ranges and both English and French-speaking residents. More women (63%) than men (52%) are against funding. The New Brunswick Right to Life Association commissioned the poll.
Right to Life executive director Peter Ryan says he hopes the results will strengthen the resolve of the provincial government to maintain its current policy against funding private clinic abortions. Ryan says that “the results challenge the common myth that there is overwhelming public support, especially among women, for abortion on demand.”
The poll also found most New Brunswickers are mostly, or completely, against funding abortions in general, regardless of where they are performed.