News

By John-Henry Westen

OTTAWA, February 23, 2006 (LifeSiteNews.com) – The Supreme Court of Canada has today refused to hear an appeal by two women in Manitoba who demanded taxpayer funding of abortions at private clinics rather than only in hospitals.

In a decision last September, the Manitoba Court of Appeal overturned a lower court ruling that found the government’s refusal to pay for abortions at private clinics (opting to pay only for abortions carried out in hospitals) to be a “gross violation” of the Charter of Rights and Freedoms.Â

The appeal court expressed concern that the lower court judge, Court of Queen’s Bench Associate Chief Justice Jeffrey Oliphant made an impromptu ‘summary judgment’ in the case which had far-reaching repercussions.“The charter issues in this case are complex and involve developing areas of law, with important policy implications,” wrote Justice Barbara Hamilton. The appeal court ruled that Justice Oliphant should have allowed the case to go to trial where expert testimony on both sides could have been heard.

The Manitoba government fought the case not on any objection to abortion, even abortion at private clinics, but since the initial ruling would set a precedent that provinces could not decide independently on how to administer health care.Â

At present, the Manitoba government, through the Winnipeg Regional Health Authority, will pay for abortions at Winnipeg’s one abortion clinic, which has become a non-profit since the Jane Doe case began, but does not fund private, for-profit clinics.

Commenting on the Supreme Court’s rejection of the case, Mary Ellen Douglas, National Organizer for Campaign Life Coalition told LifeSiteNews.com, “We are pleased that Supreme Court of Canada has refused to hear an appeal by the Manitoba women who want the public to pay for their abortions outside of hospitals. Abortion is an elective procedure, a lifestyle choice and should not be paid for from the public purse.”

See judge Oliphant’s original ruling here:
https://www.canlii.org/mb/cas/mbqb/2004/2004mbqb285.html