JULY 17, 2014

MINISTER OF HEALTH MUST ACT TO PROTECT WOMEN’S RIGHTS

OTTAWA – With the Morgentaler Clinic closing tomorrow. New Democrats urge the Minister of Health to work directly with her provincial counterparts in New Brunswick to ensure that safe access to abortion services is publicly available.

“It is disturbing and deeply concerning to know that women ‎in New Brunswick have a lack of access to safe abortions,” said NDP Health critic Libby Davies (Vancouver East). “This is an issue that the federal Minister of Health must act upon immediately, to ensure that women’s reproductive rights are upheld.”

New Democrats believe that there should be no place in Canada where a woman’s health is compromised because of a failure to provide access. Pro-choice activists nationwide have come together to support local initiatives in New Brunswick to save the Morgentaler Clinic, as well as to call attention to the lack of access to abortion services across Canada.

“Women in Canada have the right to choose – wherever they live,” said Status of Women critic Niki Ashton (Churchill). “This clinic served women in New Brunswick and PEI. Now these women no longer have access to health services that other Canadians have access to. It is time to address the gender inequality that exists when it comes to health care services available in Canada.”