CHARLOTTOWN, Jan 11, 2001 (LSN.ca) – While the government of Manitoba was quick to cave in to federal government pressure to fund private clinic abortions other provinces are refusing to concede.
New Brunswick Health Minister Dennis Furlong responded to press inquiries on his conversation with his federal counterpart Allan Rock saying, “we agreed to disagree.” He also told Rock to clarify his position in writing, maintaining that the province does not violate the Canada Health Act by refusing to pay for abortions at private abortion mills. “If the system isn’t broken, we don’t want to fix it,” said Furlong.
Prince Edward Island Health Minister Jamie Ballem says he hasn’t officially heard from Ottawa on the matter. He too maintains that PEI is not infringing the Canada Health Act by only paying for abortions in hospitals. Ballem spoke to The Guardian about the lack of abortion facilities in PEI. He said, “I don’t know if we have any physicians in the province who are prepared to perform abortions.” (The Charlottetown Guardian, Jan 11)
Even the radically pro-abortion province of Quebec, with the highest abortion rate in the country, has no plans to accede to Ottawa’s demands that it fully fund abortions at private centers such as Morgentaler’s. Alain Vezina, a spokesman for the Quebec Health Department, told the Canadian Press the province pays physicians’ fees for abortions regardless of where they are performed. It also offers a modest payment for clinic costs but doesn’t cover the full amount. She did say that policies on abortion-related fees are under review, but changes are not expected soon.
Encouragement to the four provinces in question may be sent to: Manitoba, Premier Gary Doer (NDP) [email protected] New Brunswick, Premier Bernard Lord, (PC) [email protected] PEI, Premier Pat Binns, (PC) [email protected] Nova Scotia, Premier John Hamm, (PC) [email protected]
See the Canadian Press coverage at: https://www.canada.com/cgi-bin/cp.asp?f=/news/cp/stories/20010110/national-693028.html https://www.canada.com/cgi-bin/cp.asp?f=/news/cp/stories/20010110/health-1225036.html
(with files from Pro-Life E-News Canada)