Friday, June 30, 2006
NAF Communications Department
202-667-5881
press@prochoice.org
Vicki Saporta, President and CEO of the National Abortion Federation, issued a statement today denouncing the failure of the Honourable Brad Green, QC, the Minister of Health, to clarify where and how women will be able to access publicly funded abortion services. The Dr. Everett Chalmers Hospital in Fredericton, the only facility that regularly provides publicly funded abortions in the province, suspends its services today, June 30.
Ms. Saporta's statement follows:
Today is the last day of abortion services at the Dr. Everett Chalmers Hospital in Fredericton, the only facility that regularly provides publicly funded abortions in New Brunswick. In May, Minister Brad Green, QC stated that there would be no gap in the provision of abortion care to New Brunswick women and explained that there were two other hospitals ready to provide services. Yet despite public speculation about where women will be able to access care, there has still been no announcement giving doctors information about where or how to refer their patients for publicly funded abortion services.
Leaving women and doctors with no information about how to access abortion services funded under the Canada Health Act is unacceptable. Women need to know where they can obtain the reproductive health care they need. We call on Minister Green to put an end to the confusion and speculation and guarantee women access to reproductive health care.
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The National Abortion Federation (NAF) is the professional association of abortion providers in Canada and the United States. Our mission is to ensure safe, legal, and accessible abortion care to promote health and justice for women. Our members include health care professionals at clinics, doctors' offices, and hospitals, who together care for more than half the women in both countries who choose abortion each year. For more information, visit our website at www.prochoice.org
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