By Hilary White
CHARLOTTETOWN, August 23, 2006 (LifeSiteNews.com) – Canada’s health minister, Tony Clement, told reporters at the Canadian Medical Association’s annual general meeting in Charlottetown, P.E.I. that any decisions to be made on federal funding of the private abortion facilities would be postponed.
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Under the Liberal government, health minister Ujjal Dosanjh had threatened to force New Brunswick to pay for abortions committed at private facilities such as the one operated by Dr. Henry Morgentaler in Fredericton. This despite the fact that under the Canada Health Act, the decision of which health services to fund is a provincial matter and there is no evidence that Health Canada considers abortion a “medically necessary” procedure.
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Clement told reporters that any decision made by the new government would wait until after the upcoming New Brunswick election.
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New Brunswick public health pays for “medically necessary” abortions in public hospitals up to 12 weeks of pregnancy. New Brunswick is one of the few jurisdictions in Canada that refuses to pay for private abortions.
Earlier this year, Health Minister Brad Green said he was determined to ensure access to publicly funded “medically necessary termination of pregnancy procedures” in New Brunswick.
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Read related LifeSiteNews.com coverage:
Abortion Funding for Privately Run Clinics? New Brunswick Says No Way
https://www.lifesitenews.com/ldn/2005/jan/05012702.html