FREDERICTON, NB, November 6, 2008 (LifeSiteNews.com) – The Province of New Brunswick has decided to appeal a ruling granting Henry Morgentaler the status to pursue a lawsuit on the issue of tax-funded abortion, New Brunswick Right to Life has revealed.
On August 1 Madam Justice Paula Garnett granted Morgentaler “public-interest standing” to proceed in his lawsuit against the Province. “Standing” refers to the question of whether or not a plaintiff is sufficiently affected by a piece of legislation to justify his/her bringing forward a lawsuit against it.
In her ruling Judge Garnett said that Morgentaler in this instance “does not have legal capacity” since he is not a woman seeking an abortion. However, she said that since such women were unlikely to bring a legal action themselves, “Dr. Morgentaler is a suitable alternative to do so.”
Morgentaler contends that the province’s refusal to fund his private clinic in Fredericton is a violation of the Charter of Rights and the Canada Health Act. New Brunswick is the only province that has a private abortion facility that is not publicly funded.
Peter Ryan of New Brunswick Right to Life says he received a letter from Premier Shawn Graham stating that the Province is appealing the ruling.
“This is good news,” says Ryan. “There is no reason not to appeal.”
Ryan says the province’s position in the dispute is consistent with federal law. “It is a myth to say there is any requirement to fund abortion on demand. That is elective surgery, which legally is a matter of discretionary funding.”
He added, “On a humanitarian level, it is the height of insanity to force the public to pay for mothers to extinguish their child’s life. An abortion clinic is more like a temple of sacrifice than a health care facility.
“I don’t care how much of a celebrity Morgentaler is,” Ryan said. “What he’s into, in my view, is not medicine but something that has the earmarks of a religious cult. To fund that would be lunacy.”