The Morgentaler abortion clinic in Fredericton, New Brunswick, has announced that it will be closing in July due to lack of funding.
The Morgentaler clinic is the only abortion clinic in New Brunswick. In fact, aside from the Athena clinic in Newfoundland, it is the only abortion clinic east of Montreal. It serves not only the population of New Brunswick, but also that of Prince Edward Island. Currently, abortions in those provinces are not covered by medicare – in fact, Regulation 84-20 of New Brunswick’s Medical Services Payment act includes the following under procedures which are “are deemed not to be entitled services”:
(a.1) abortion, unless the abortion is performed by a specialist in the field of obstetrics and gynaecology in a hospital facility approved by the jurisdiction in which the hospital facility is located and two medical practitioners certify in writing that the abortion was medically required
So just to clarify, women in New Brunswick and Prince Edward Island cannot access safe, legal abortions unless two doctors declare in writing that the abortion is medically necessary.
Medically. Necessary.
Women cannot choose to terminate a pregnancy unless two doctors agree that it is medically necessary.
It doesn’t matter how many times I type those words – I still have a hard time wrapping my brain around them. Medically necessary. Medically necessary. Jesus Christ, what decade are we living in?
Scratch that, what century are we living in?
The Morgentaler clinic is the only facility in New Brunswick and Prince Edward Island where women can access safe, legal abortions without having to demonstrate medical need. It is the only place where women can exercise their rights to bodily autonomy and reproductive choice. It is unbelievably necessary to the population that it serves – since it first opened in 1994, 10,000 abortions have been performed there. There is a demonstrably urgent need for the Morgentaler clinic in New Brunswick.
And yet, even within the Morgentaler clinic, there are still barriers for women who require access to abortions. Because provincial healthcare does not cover abortions, women need to pay between $700 and $850 (depending on how many weeks along they are) in order to terminate their pregnancy. This means that the most vulnerable, economically disadvantaged women – arguably the women who would benefit the most from access to safe, legal abortion – are often unable to pay for the procedure. And that is incredibly fucked up.
Think about what it would mean to your family to suddenly have to shell out $850 on just a few weeks’ notice. Think of what it would mean for you to have to get that money together in a short amount of time, or else face the burden of an unexpected, unwanted pregnancy. I live a pretty comfortable middle class existence, and even I would struggle to come up with that kind of money on short notice. And I know that I’m luckier than most – I have a steady income, I have a partner with a steady income, and we have a stable home life. I cannot imagine what it would be like to be a single woman working at a minimum wage job, barely scraping enough together for rent and bills each month, to discover that she has to scrape together $850 or else face raising a child that she does not want and cannot afford on her own.
I also want you to think about what will happen in New Brunswick and Prince Edward Island once the Morgentaler clinic is gone. Do you honestly believe that women just won’t have abortions? Are you seriously buying into some kind of anti-choice fantasy where a woman gets to the halfway mark in her pregnancy and suddenly falls in love with the idea of being a mother and then her boyfriend shows up on their doorstep and asks her to get married and it’s all roses and white picket fences from there on? For fucking real?
If that’s the case, let me tell you what’s actually going to happen – women are going to die. Women are going to die because they will be forced to turn to unlicensed abortion providers who might prey on their vulnerability by charging extortionate rates for unsafe procedures. Women are going to die because they will attempt to terminate their own pregnancies at home, by themselves, with little or no knowledge of what they’re doing. Women will die because their pregnancies will force them to stay in abusive relationships that they might otherwise have been able to leave. If you think that closing an abortion clinic will somehow equal more happy endings or at the very least more babies, then think again – worldwide statistics and history both show that the real outcome of this situation will be the loss of women’s lives.
This cannot happen. We cannot, in good conscience, let this happen. We need to do everything that we can to allow women to exercise reproductive freedom. We need to stand up for the right of women in New Brunswick – and all across Canada – to have access to save, legal abortion.
Our voices, united, can affect change. There are so many things that you can do to help create a better future for women in this country; here are just a few:
1. Reach out New Brunswick’s NDP party – they are actively working to end the two doctor requirement for abortions, and will happily provide you with the contact information for members of the legislative assembly so that you can write to your local representative. Call 1-844-NDP-NPD1 or email info@nbndp.ca
2. Put pressure on your MLA to have the law changed by writing to them, calling them, and emailing them
3. Tweet about this using the hashtag #NBProchoice
4. Sign this petition on change.org asking the New Brunswick government to fund the Morgentaler clinic
5. Check out the New Brunswick Pro Choice Facebook page
6. Share this story on social media – chances are that many Canadians are not aware of how limited access to abortion is in New Brunswick
I want to leave you now with one of my favourite quotes from Dr. Henry Morgentaler, who was a feminist hero, agitator for women’s reproductive rights and founder of the Morgentaler abortion clinics. D. Morgentaler was a Holocaust survivor, and his experience at Auschwitz left him with an enormous desire to make the world a better place. While receiving an honorary doctorate of law from the University of Western Ontario, he said:
“By fighting for reproductive freedom, and making it possible, I have made a contribution to a safer and more caring society where people have a greater opportunity to realize their full potential.”
It’s up to us to continue his fight for that safer, more caring society.
The Belle Jar 
Reblogged this on TGM Millennials.
It baffles my mind that ‘in this decade, scratch that, in this century’, people still think it’s okay to kill babies because of “women’s rights”. Sad; those babies never got the chance to grow into those “rights” because they were killed before they even had a chance to speak up for themselves.
I think it’s atrocious how many women fight for the “right” to kill their children. What has this world come to?
I absolutely agree with you. I use to be all about abortions before I got pregnant and realized that the baby inside of me did NOT ask to be made. If you are willing to participate in the pleasure of your sexual desire’s, know there is consequences to your actions. Baby’s are not able to stand up for their right’s, it’s a shame that woman (the baby’s MOTHER) are aloud to technically commit murder and get away with it!
I don’t think things go far enough. I think people should have the right to kill anyone that they can claim as a dependent on their taxes. God knows that taking care of people is one of the top reasons why women are unable to achieve economic parity with men. And they’re punished more for giving child-raising the old college try. Women who drive their SUVs into lakes to drown their children and are then tried by the criminal justice system are by far the worst victims of patriarchal system that does everything it can to force them give birth to children and take care of them, even when doing so is beyond their means and capacity. Until we can kill our relatives who we must claim on our taxes (so long as we do so in a humane and painless way) society will not have reached an acceptable level of progress for the rights of women!
If you are serious Alex you need some serious professional help. “I think people should have the right to kill anyone that they can claim as a dependent on their taxes.”
Are you serious? Where is that “RIGHT” that you say for that person who you’d want to kill? You are taking their “RIGHTS” right out of their hands.
If your adult enough to spread your legs take responsibility for what you do and your more then capable of accepting the consequences. If you can’t “afford” don’t be spreading for you own pleasure, knowing full well 100% protection doesn’t exist unless you close your legs.
If you think that a women who is having an abortion isn’t hurting a baby I think you need to do some research. Yes, every abortion kills an innocent human being. Even more alarming is the fact that beginning at the 8th week of development, an unborn baby that is aborted feels pain during the abortion. The baby feels both psychological and real physical, organic pain. Let that sink in. Now may I ask you how is that humane?
The child lives in this condition of pain for up to an hour during a surgical abortion and in hardly any of these techniques is the unborn child provided with any form of anaesthesia!!.They can be ripped apart by forced forceps delivery. There tiny hearts stopped by saline solutions,or far worse as I have found in my research!..It is absolutely Barbaric !!..But we are oppressed and forced to call it …’The woman’s choice’…’Every woman’s right to a choice’…What rights does that little baby have?…NONE!!
I was being sarcastic. Taking the economic/convenience argument to its logical conclusion.
The human race is absolutely retarded. We show more care for animal’s then we do for our own flesh and blood. Absolutely disgusting! When I stick it, I make sure I know the consequence’s. If I make a child (which I have) I take care of it. I understand men run off and I’m not like all men, but men need to step up to the plate and be responsible as well for that child just like the mother is. The mother of my child didn’t want the baby, but when I made sure she knew I was going to be there 100% she had the baby and regret’s thinking that.. If men stepped up to the plate, cared for their babies, provided for their children/family maybe woman wouldn’t need to feel like they have no hope..
Stop blaming woman all the time and get this “equality” crap together.. Go after the father’s without such a lengthy process in court.
Agreed!!! A million times over!!!
It baffles my mind that anyone other than the person who is pregnant has the right to make a decision such as that. They aren’t fighting for “the right to kill their children”, they’re fighting for A CHOICE. So they can CHOOSE whether or not to keep it, and if they CHOOSE to have an abortion they can do it in a medically safe manner. You think these women enjoy killing a living being growing inside them? You think people who’ve gone through with the procedure don’t seriously give thought to the fact that they’re ending a life? They aren’t doing it for fun, they’re doing it because they either physically, emotionally, or financially can’t support a child. You think the baby is the only one who wouldn’t be able to live up to its potential? What about the young woman who now has to dedicate her entire life around a being that she’s given birth to? She may never get a chance to go to college and realize her full potential because she has to deal with a foolish decision SHE made when she was younger and couldn’t do a thing about because SOMEBODY ELSE said she had no choice in the matter. Furthermore, did you even read the article? Do you seriously think that people with no access to an abortion clinic aren’t going to have abortions? Do you think the “coat hanger” idea is just a myth? People with no way out will find a way out, history’s already taught us that. This isn’t the 50’s, this is the 21st Century, and we are SMARTER than this.
Just to clarify…I agree with Beth…a million times over.
Christian I know a few woman who’ve had 5+ abortions as their birth control. Not saying everyone is like but but when you’ve had more then one there is absolutely a problem. Technically these woman are fighting for a choice to kill their children. Abortion clinics are abused by women who can’t keep their legs closed, and don’t want to deal with the repercussions. Keep your leg’s closed and you won’t have to worry about a pregnancy…
Beth you are absolutely right!
I agree disagree “Beth”. No woman chooses to get pregnant, just so she can kill a baby. Children who are unwanted end up languishing in orphanages or end up with parents who don’t want them. When the former happens we end up with adults with personality disorders. Adults much like you “Beth”.
Fuck you, you piece of shit forced birth terrorist!!! I think its fucking atrocious that fascist cuntbags like you are willing to force women to have children on the grounds that a 1 in 100,000 chance that the life of that child won’t be hell on earth, damning 99,999 other children to hell on earth to prove your evil fucking fascist point! The world will be a much better place when all forced birth terrorists like yourself are shot dead on sight.
An eye opener on abortion: I went to school with a girl who was conceieved as a product of a vicious rape. Her mother did not believe in abortion. When Michelle was in her last year of college she committed suicide. She believed she was an abomination and in her suicide letter she made reference to abortion and stated that her mother should have had one. She also stated that if her mother had of aborted her then, she wouldn’t have had to go through a life of pain because of knowing she was a product of a raping. Not every abortion that is preformed was the result of a woman not being able to keep her legs closed. What happens if a woman in new Brunswick is raped and becomes pregnant. Do you believe she should be forced to have the child? What if a homeless womans only way to survive is to have sex with men for money and they have no condom (do not judge this unless you have truly starved before), should she bring a baby into her environment. Should that baby have to live in a drug addicts body and be born sick and in withdrawal and be diseased and potentially be handicapped due to her lifestyle while pregnant and then be taken by CAS, possibly never be adopted and live a life of hell? What about a woman who cannot get out of an abusive relationship ( again don’t judge if you have never been in one, I have and its not as easy as you think it would be. Fear decides your every decision) and if he forces sex on her and refuses to wear a condom and you have bad reactions to birth control, as I do, its very common. Should that woman be forced to bring her baby into an abusive world, became I assure u, a abusive man will convince this woman she may now never leave because she has his child? Not every situation is a “she couldn’t keep her legs closed” one. I completely disagree with women who use abortion as a form of birth control cause they couldn’t keep their legs closed. THAT IS KILLING A CHILD. A homeless woman who is an alcoholic, diseased, and a drug addict who has an abortion. THAT IS SAVING A BABYS LIFE! Anyone who thinks a child should be born by this type of woman has a moral compass that is totally off. Everyone is entitled to their own opinion this is mine. I’m not trying to convince anyone of My opinion, just simply stating it. You can’t convince a naieve stupid person, so I’m not gonna bother. I have two beautiful children and they are fortunate to be born at the time in my life that they were. They could have been born when I was broke and in university. I wouldn’t have been able to finish school and we would have had a shit life. I would like to add that both of my children were conceived while taking proper precautions to not get pregnant. But shit happened and that’s life. Everyone is focusing on the women, but its these poor kids who are being born into terrible lives because their mother didn’t have to choice to terminate the pregnancy. Terminating the pregnancy and having the baby go through a second of pain if its later into the pregnancy is more humane that making them live a life of poverty, hunger, and abuse. Because any responsible woman who has an abortion is doing a to prevent their child from going through that. They are not killing a life they are saving one. On the other hand, women who use abortion as birth control should be shot and not ruin it for all other responsible women to have choice. It is only human to make errors. Even big life changing errors. I’m sure all these anti abortion ppl have made big mistakes in their life. No one is perfect and babies shouldn’t have to suffer a terrible life because of a women mistakes. The mother should have the choice to make sure they don’t suffer a lifetime of misery. And all these some who won’t close their legs stop ruining it for everyone else who who is doing it for the same of the child and not for selfish reasons.
P.s sorry for the auto correct errors
It is so sad to me that in this day and age that woman do not know what birth control is and how to use it. It is simple, you have a IUD or use another contraceptive then there will be no need for this. What the problem is….is that these woman are not expected to use their brains and have consequences for their actions. It disgusts me! Even if these woman have to give the children up for adoption , then so be it. I have several friends that can not have children that would gladly take them!
Just so you know… contraceptives are not 100%. My husband and I have 3 children. ALL conceived on various birth control, and yes it was used correctly. It is possible to get pregnant with an IUD. Which can pose serious complications, and may result in termination of the pregnancy. But I suppose because a doctor makes that decision FOR the woman, it would ok then. But oh no, lets not let the woman decide. Thankfully, no one has taken the choice away to have our tubes tied! Yet…..
Ahh!!!!!! I just want to scream. People are ridiculous. It’s called birth control or adoption. Pro choice = pro murder.
It’s sad to me that people think birth control is 100% effective. It’s also sad that women do not have the choice of an abortion if they want one, either. It’s great that you have several friends who will adopt, but there will be more than several abortions performed.
who says it is up to the protesters on not allowing the very woman to give birth, the right to have a abortion. I know this is a touchy subject but I cannot believe you are telling someone that they do not have the choice to have the child or not. The child wouldn’t survive without the mother at early stages anyways so in my opinion, that is the pregnant mother’s decision to go through with this or not.
If your gonna make rude comments and make me sound like a awful person, go ahead. Simply it just shows that you are speaking emotional,cause a child is involved. We have so many kids who need to be adopted as it is and what are we doing to help with that issue?
Good point – Maybe more money and efforts should go towards finding proper homes for children requiring adoption, rather than just killing unplanned for children?
I would also like to point out that adoption is a stupid argument. If a women knows she’s pregnant, and does not want the child, it’s not difficult to set up an adoption. Any idea how many families want to adopt babies, but never get that chance because thousands of women who choose to have their babies discarded as “medical waste”?
Abortion clinics are abused by women who can’t keep their legs closed, and don’t want to deal with the repercussions.
I’m sure that comment will be followed by the rape argument. I have only one thing to say about that; my mother was raped at 16, and 9 months later, she gave birth to a boy, who is now my older brother; loved, and cherished.
The government wont even pay to have an aching tooth pulled, or any other non necessary procedure ! why should they spend money on abortion?
Because it would be alot cheaper paying for an abortion than raising them on welfare…which is were 90 percent of them will be. Id rather see my tax dollars go towards abortion than rising a welfare family.
How can people get on a public site and rant bullshit like this? At least do a little research and get your facts right so you don’t look like such an idiot. http://www.halifaxsexualhealth.ca/index.php?q=content/abortion-counselling-and-referrals
It baffles you that it’s okay to kill babies in this day and age? It baffles me that corpses are given more rights than living women, it baffles me that some people still think that sex is only about procreation.
Abortion is murder. And I don’t care if birth control is not 100%, you know what is? Abstinence. Sex has become too much of a casual thing in our society, like it’s something that even teenagers have to do. We all have a choice to engage in casual sex or not, and we choose to engage in it we should have to face the consequences. If that means pregnancy, well you have to deal with it and not just murder the child.
Right, let’s go back to our out-dated puritanical values and dictate the sex lives of the working poor. Because if you’re too poor to have a kid, don’t open your legs. Only the rich should enjoy sex, right Jon?
Religious or non-religious persons should all agree that the government should not be deciding the fate of its citizens this personally. Government was created as a last resort, if your local community couldn’t do something, then your church would, if your church couldn’t, then your greater society, and THEN the federal government. I think it unwise to put this much power into their hands, don’t fuel the fire and don’t let them have this power.
So does that also mean that the men need it MEDICALLY NECESSARY by 2 doctors to get a vasectomy?
sigh
OMG…that is really crazy. I had no idea that still happened in Canada.
About time they close this it’s Murder !! What do you mean an ” unwanted pregnancy ” anybody that says Jesus Christ and other profanity terms in a column can’t be taken seriously anyway as I said an unwanted pregnancy !? Seriously .. It’s simple .. If your adult enough to spread your legs take responsibility for what you do and your more then capable of accepting the conciquences there’s no such thing as an unwanted pregnancy every pregnancy is for one reason or another it’s a miracle of gods work that was brought into our lives and it is an abomination to take the life of another due to poor judgements ! It should NOT be allowed it’s killing a life and a future they didn’t ask for this or to be brought into this world it’s OUR responsibility as women to be wise n smart with our decisions and murder is unacceptable .. We don’t justify a man taking the life of another man why is it okay to take the life of a baby ? It’s not ! If that’s the case we might as well release mass murderers and say it’s okay no big deal ! Seriously people stop thinking a clinic like this is even necessary !
Are you kidding me? We live in a secular society. You have as much reason to prevent another woman from having an abortion due to your religious views as any man walking down to street to demand that you wear a burqa.
It has nothing to do with religion, Abortion is murder simple as that.
Words like “Jesus Christ” being profanity and talking about miracles of god, leads me to believe that you feel this way because of religion. Which should be the last thing when dealing with a human life. Imagine growing up knowing you are someone’s consequence??? Do you ever argue either someone because of a difference of opinion? But at the end of the day you don’t need to agree, nor do you need to here. No one will take you serious if you say an abortion is the same as releasing mass murderers. No one tells you how to dress, how long you can grow your hair, what you can eat, because it’s your body. No one should be forced to carry a life if they don’t want to. It’s that simple
Because not everyone (including the Supreme Court of Canada) agrees with you about what a “baby” is.
By the by, given the huge number of pregnancies that are miscarriages, your God is the biggest abortionist there ever was. Might wanna take that up with him?
The whole argument about when life actually begins is so stupid to me. If we as a human race are unable to pinpoint the precise point when life happens, how can we take the risk of allowing abortions if it means we rick potentially killing life?!? Seems like playing with fire to me.
You, madam, are ignorant.
So is it “gods” merical when a woman’s legs are forced open and she raped? Is it “gods” way of showing this woman should carry a baby that was FORCED inside of her? Only to be born and never fully loved because it would be a CONSTENT reminder to that woman of what happened to her? Or is it that YOU speak on behalf of god? Because just like “god” gave everyone the ability to speak. “God” also gave everyone the ability to NOT speak. Keep judgment to yourself because in the end I don’t think “god” would like to be spoken for…
This point is brought up time after time and I just don’t understand it. Of the 10 000 babies killed, how many cases involved rape? And how many cases involved just having sex with someone they wouldn’t want to have a baby with? This world is so broken. The unfortunate victims of rape need physical, emotional, and spiritual healing after such a terrible event. But God has a destiny for every beating heart.
Wow people still believe in god….
Keep your religion out of my life. Luckily the court if Canada had ruled a women has a choice, a fetus is not a human and that people can live free of other people’s religious hang ups. Love your life the way you like – leave others to do the same. This choice is already hard enough without the religious yammering on about their glorious beliefs.
Yes, medically necessary attitude will put women back squarely in the patriarchal system. Fight for your rights and all the best.
I really understand and share what you mean. In Spain is only legal to abort after rape or if the life of the mother is in danger. Although I would expect that from Spain where instead of moving forward everything goes backwards but I’m surprised of those restrictions in Canada…
“I cannot imagine what it would be like to be a single woman working at a minimum wage job, barely scraping enough together for rent and bills each month, to discover that she has to scrape together $850 or else face raising a child that she does not want and cannot afford on her own.”
I’m sorry, but this stuck out to me so much. What about adoption? Is it easy to put a child up for adoption? I would imagine not, but guess what? Unless she was raped, that is the position you put yourself in. Bottom line. I hate to call myself anti abortion, but I guess it sounds more and more like I am…..I guess I’ll be proud of that. Am I a crazy protestor? No. I know way too many women who have had five plus abortions for no reason other than they know it’s an option. If you don’t want your child, give it to a loving family who will. So do I care that the clinic is closing? Not really.
Yet without the option to have a safe abortion how many of those women you know would be dead today due to DIY abortions?
Yeah, the adoption system. Because that system doesn’t already have way more children than adoptive parents, leaving the child to grow up in a series of orphanages and foster homes, most of whom will end up 1) on the streets or 2) in jail.
It’s amazing how few people know about the serious physical health problems that come with pregnancy. I didn’t either, until I got pregnant and was so incredibly sick that I had to quit my job and drop my courses until my abortion two months later. I couldn’t keep any food down (no, this was not “morning sickness”, it was serious physical illness), couldn’t sleep, and couldn’t walk. And for the record, birth control was used. I wouldn’t have qualified as “medically necessary” because while I would have been seriously, seriously ill for nine months, I would not have died.
An abortion is so horrible that I can’t imagine going through that again, but being pregnant was so, so, SO much worse that it brings me to tears to imagine the option not being available. It’s impossible to know what someone else should do until you’re in the situation yourself. Abortions need to be free, safe, and legal.
I’m truly very sorry for your situation, but I must say, this really irks me. I was so ill with my first pregnancy that I was literally hooked up to an IV almost daily, and on medication for 9 months. I too, had to quit my job, and lived in a small town by myself, while my husband was away in the military.
My daughter is now 4 years old, and perfect in every way imaginable. I still look at that pregnancy as a blessing, and I’m so thankful for every single second of it.
Maybe you’d feel different if you had not terminated. I’m sorry you felt that was your only option.
THANK YOU Kel! I am tired of the adoption argument. It’s an option if you want to remain pregnant and not have a child. Not every woman does. My body, my choice.
You’re not anti abortion – you’re anti women.
Wow….typical man. Yeah I’m anti woman. Such a moron.
I’m rather obsessed with Jimmy Carter right now… reading his manifesto to address the inequities and dangers facing women and girls all over the planet. Even though he is a devout Christian (and likely, personally opposed to abortion), I think he would argue that the clinic you mentioned needs to exist. It needs to exist for the hundreds of women who become pregnant through NO CHOICE of their own (or as a product of an unstable environment, lack of education, mental illness, or any number of tragedies), and then are subsequently stripped of any choices thereafter.
The tone of this post, and many on this topic, is that abortion is an inalienable right. But, some of us will never get there. No one likes to think about abortion and its religious and philosophical and scientific link to death. Some of us can only tolerate the possibility of abortion in the context of “medical necessity,” and others not even then. And it’s not a draconian, old-fangled notion; it’s a firmly held, cherished support of Life. Unfortunately, the world we live in doesn’t support and protect its women and girls. And until it does, clinics like these need to remain available for the most vulnerable among us… so that these women aren’t further damaged by a world that has already failed them.
Just two cents from someone who struggles with her politically pro-Choice stance that is at odds with the less complicated belief that all life should be protected.
Reblogged this on Before Change, Comes Chaos. and commented:
This is just next door to me provincially speaking. Please signalboost.
A question I rarely see anyone ask is: How much more would the gov’t spend on each of those 10,000 aborted children had they been forced to be born, raised, educated, fed, cared for medically, etc. via state-run facilities and foster care services? What about assistance (food, medical, day-care, education) for the mother, who may feel forced to keep the child and attempt to raise it on her own? These cost, over the life of the child, are much, much higher than the cost of this medical procedure.
I am personally against abortion. I feel that there are enough other alternatives that allow men and women to be 99.6% sure of not getting pregnant if they don’t want to. However, there is about 50% of the population who sees it differently than I do and they should have every right to a safe, medically sound procedure they can use (and especially in the cases of rape, incest, and medically necessary issues). There is no reason that women should be forced to go to back-alley abortionists to get this procedure done in today’s society.
Here’s hoping that enough people make this issue a priority that the center can stay open and perform this much-needed service.
I just wanted to thank you for posting, because I can relate to your position – personally against abortion while legally/socially for it. Abortion has always been a tricky subject for me as an infertile woman and adoptive parent, who is also a feminist who believes in bodily autonomy, and who knows that for every 1000 abortions there are 1000 different stories.
Yes, I have knee-jerk gut reactions to ‘but I would LOVE to be pregnant’, or ‘But … adoption’ – but I also fundamentally realize that is informed by my lived experience – and my own understanding of what I personally would be comfortable with (I myself would feel better putting a child up for adoption in the case of an unwanted pregnancy, but that also comes from having supportive parents, having never been raped or in an abusive relationship, having never been pregnant with a seriously ill/disabled child or had a pregnancy that made me ill).
That is called ‘privilege’, and I am blessed to be able to make that choice. The next woman over who isn’t as lucky – or maybe even who IS, but would simply feel more comfortable terminating the pregnancy and moving on as best she can than putting the child up for adoption, should also be free to make the best choice for herself, in her own circumstances. And you captured very nicely the need to separate one’s own personal values from what society as a whole should allow – my ‘values’ end where they infringe on one’s rights. Especially in my own case when they’re SO informed by a very personal lived experience.
Reblogged this on Halitrax and commented:
Women’s reproductive health is a hugely important issue. Access to safe, affordable care NEEDS to be a priority. When we lose facilities that provide such care, it’s a problem for all of us. This post from The Belle Jar sums up the issues nicely. Feel free to visit the site directly to post a comment on the original post.
Tragic. Thanks for summing up these important issues in such a clear way. Reblogged on http://www.halitrax.com
I’m another one who didn’t think this was happening in Canada. How frustrating.
Do you honestly believe that women just won’t have abortions? <—– This is what I ask every pro-life person who tries to argue with me about the need for these clinics. They just don't get it. I also tell them to go watch the end of Revolutionary Road and imagine a woman they love being put in a situation where that is her only option. Gives me chills just thinking about it. Thanks for writing this.
Pro-Lifers cause me obscene amounts of frustration. Reading some of these comments completely boggles my mind.
I haven’t come back since this morning because I didn’t want to see what people wrote but I’m already feeling stabby so what the hell, right?!
Nope, I read 4 comments and I almost punched my screen. I’ll see you guys on the flip side. THANKS AGAIN ANNE!! SHARE SHARE SHARE
http://www.theguardian.pe.ca/News/Local/2011-11-10/article-2802198/Women-turning-to-desperate-measures-due-to-lack-of-abortion-services/1 I’ve shared and written to my elected reps. Here’s the Premier’s page for others to add their voices. https://www.facebook.com/pages/Premier-David-Alward-NB/182054388475751
I can actually say I am happy to see it close. Women do still have a choice…choose ahead not after the damage is done! Amen
so are you saying that women should be prepared in case they’re raped?
I feel it needs to be mentioned that all the information I’ve seen says this is the only place on the east coast (east of Montreal as it is stated in this post) offering safe abortions. That is not true seeing as they are also done in Halifax, Nova Scotia.
They are offered in Nova Scotia. If you are a resident of PEI or New Brunswick, you can go to Nova Scotia to have the procedure done. To be refunded for the cost of the procedure (not the travel or hotel if you have to stay in Halifax) you have to have statements from two different doctors asserting that the abortion is medically necessary. I am in my thirties and find that prospect daunting and can only imagine how daunting that would be to a 16 year old.
Excellent piece on this! Just discovered your blog via a share on FB. THANK YOU for writing it and spreading the word. Access to abortion in Canada is shockingly bad, and the situation on the east coast has just gotten way worse. It’s really sad and disheartening.
Reblogged this on .
this place is a joke, shut it down! people should learn some responsibility.. u get pregnant u have the kid! its the same thing as some one telling you instead of killing ur baby lets kill your mother , father or a sibling …. i agree with them shutting err down.
Well, clearly you know what you’re talking about. Hey, people will take you seriously in the future if you can actually put together a coherent sentence.
Do you really think it’s always that simple? Personally, I am not an advocate of people having abortions because of irresponsible sex…in my eyes, it is not a form of birth control similar to condoms or the pill, for example. But what would you do if you were impregnated by your father? Or your brother? Or by some guy who decided to rape you just because he could? Don’t even try to tell me that there is a simple, straightforward answer to any of those questions. The emotional impact that you or any woman would suffer after any one of those traumas (just for a few examples) is immeasurable and impossible to predict. Some women may decide to carry on with the pregnancy and put their child up for adoption, and some might even keep their child as their own after the birth. Those people are probably exceptionally strong and few-and-far between. But some may not be able to carry such a burden, either physically or emotionally. Remember, children are a lifelong commitment. If your child carries memories of incest or rape, you will be reminded day in and day out of what happened to you and how this child came to be. That is almost guaranteed to be unhealthy for both the mother and the child. Just try to imagine.
And how about if you were informed that giving birth would almost certainly kill you? Do you think that everyone would be so “brave and noble” as to sacrifice their life for their unborn baby? What kind of life would their child even have if their mother died? They would almost certainly face a lifetime of guilt and ongoing therapy if they ever found out the circumstances surrounding their birth. The solution to any one of these situations are NOT cut and dry. They are complex and personal. There will always be situations where abortion will be the lesser evil. This is just reality. In fact, it’s just plain old statistics, if you’re mathematically inclined. Along with that, there will be people who turn to abortion for other reasons, but that is still their choice and their right. No one has to like it. But if you enjoy having the option to choose how you dress yourself and what kind of food you eat, then women the world over should be free to choose to prevent or end pregnancy (which are just about the same thing, wouldn’t you say? Birth control is common but not nearly as many people are so offended by it). To me, this is the truth, no matter how morbid, sad, or unfair it may seem.
I want to point out that I have a young daughter of my own. I never once considered aborting her. I was lucky to be able to carry a baby and give birth – these things changed my life for the better. I was also lucky to not have been forcibly impregnated. I am thankful, and I always will be. Not every would-be mother will feel this way, whether or not she gets pregnant after rape. Not everyone benefits from pregnancy – not all mothers have a fairy tale ending where they magically fall in love with the newborn that is placed in their arms. Some of them might. But some of them might also abandon the baby, or flat out take the life of the child after birth because they were not permitted to do so beforehand.
Are these all things that you considered before making your reply? There are a few sides to the abortion argument, and everyone has a right to believe what they want to, but I would hope that everyone would at least have an opinion that is formed after trying to view the situation from different perspectives…specifically, the one that sits opposite to yours. If, after this kind of enlightenment, you believe that your original opinion is still valid then fine. That is your prerogative. But until you even attempt to understand all sides of anything, you probably are just making an ignorant statement.
Yeah! Because children should be a punishment! That’s a good way to educate people, by making them raise a child without adequate resources in a house full of resentment and poverty!
That’ll learn em to… uh…
Sorry, what was your point again?
YOU’RE. AN. IDIOT.
So thankful and relieved that innocent children aren’t being killed simply because they’re inconvenient.
Inconvenient? A child can be downright ruinous for a poor family. You’d rather see an entire family condemned to abject poverty than see an abortion (which isn’t killing a child, by the way) performed?
Then practice SAFE SEX been doing it for years!
Except they will be, but in a way that also routinely kills the mother. So glad you’re thankful and relieved about that you sociopath.
Abortions will still happen regardless of the clinic closing or not. Did you read the article in full?
Thank you for writing this!
Keep your legs closed if you don’t want any children.
Right, so you want to regulate other people’s sex lives? Because that’s actually what you’re saying. By saying that the only contraceptive option women have is to keep their legs closed, you tell them that they cannot enjoy the recreational aspect of sex unless they have the means to support a child. That means that only the middle and upper classes can enjoy sex.
So that’s what you’re saying, right? That poor women aren’t allowed to have sex?
Good luck with that.
Don’t have an abortion if you don’t want one.
How do you “fight for that safer, more caring society” by killing babies?
By giving the option of abortion (along with other methods of contraception) you can alleviate the misery of countless potential children who will be born into abject poverty and the neglect it entails. That’s one way of, using your rhetoric, “killing babies” makes for a safer, more caring society.
Another way, by providing safe, sanitary, and well-funded abortion clinics women will not suffer from poorly-performed abortions, higher abortion prices etc. That’s two really obvious ways it makes for a safer and caring society. If you rubbed two neurons together in your head, you could probably come up with a few others.
Contraception is a way of preventing pregnancy. Abortion is not contraception. Stop putting people down who don’t agree with you.
It’s a cluster of cells.
It’s not just a cluster of cells. Some women are having abortions way into pregnancy. By then there is a heart beat.
You’re a cluster of cells.
It’s easier to care more about less people, silly! There are too many people for the caring to care about.
Thanks for straitening me out!
No problem! You’d better believe that Maggie Sanger totes high-fived Georgie-B Shaw in hell when she heard the news that more blacks were aborted than born in New York. Saving white women from the patriarchy and dangerous minorities one baby at a time!
Newsflash: not everyone agrees with your conception of what a “baby” is. It’s a cluster of cells, unaware and not alive by any normal definition of the word.
Do you people not do research?? Women can have an abortion well into a pregnancy therefor there is a heart beat and it IS alive. We are all a bunch of cells, we also all have a heart beat.
It’s one thing to express your opinion about the validity of murdering of unborn children based upon inconvenience (which is the case if it’s not medically necessary) but why would you blaspheme the name of Christ? It is inappropriate and offensive.
Well, Brian, the attempt to legislate the sex lives of poor women and dismantle basic human rights is offensive and inappropriate, too. Who gives a damn about Christ when abortion rights are a serious issue?
It is grammatically incorrect to use the word murder when referring to something unborn.
Because no one is under an obligation to revere your god but you.
FUCK JESUS….it’s not about Jesus, it’s about our country and our gov., which is separate from YOUR god. Go drink some kool aid Brian. It’s 2014 and not everyone wants children or can afford it. People enjoy sex, not just for bible-thumping procreation but because they enjoy it, but I guess only rich, married women should be entitled to sex eh?
Does your wife have to wear ankle length skirts? Do you allow her to wear make-up? Is she permitted to drive a car? Do you even let her vote, Brian?
You are offensive. You are inappropriate.
Oh come on Sue, I’m an atheist, and I need to tell you – grow up. Belittling people’s religions isn’t in any way conducive to a reasonable debate.
so even if a child is conceived by rape the mother should keep it unless it threatens her life?…wow you sir are an asshole
I feel like your point would be made just as well without all of the obscenities therefore I will not be sharing this. There are copious amounts of words to illustrate your point at your disposal. Profanities make this piece come off less intelligent than it could be. I am fully aware of the “freedom of speech” and “swear words are just social constructs” comments that are going to arise (I have studied sociology) but many would agree that by using obscenities you are limiting your audience.
“Women’s liberation requires a socialist revolution to end capitalist rule and lay the material basis for the replacement of the family, opening the door not only to legal equality but to social equality. The family in its economic and social functions can’t simply be done away with. It must be replaced by the socialization of housework and other tasks that now fall upon it. To do so means a comprehensive network of free, well-equipped, 24-hour childcare centers; free, top-quality medical care including abortion, no matter what term in pregnancy; socialization of such services as laundry and the preparation of meals; free access to all educational institutions. But achieving this, placing society’s resources truly in the service of working people, requires the overthrow of the capitalist private property system and the creation of a socialized economy under a revolutionary workers government, the dictatorship of the proletariat, which replaces the dictatorship of the bourgeoisie.”
Reproductive rights are part of a woman’s inalienable rights. But it’s only one of the many aspects of women’s oppression, and this oppression is built right into the very framework of the capitalist system. The NDP might remove the two-doctor requirement for abortion (still leaving the requirement of one doctor deeming abortion medically necessary), but it will never truly end the backwards oppression of women. No party of the bourgeoisie will do that—the capitalists have too much at stake! Consider fighting the root of the problem, too, not just its symptoms. The masses have only their chains to lose.
Women should have the right to kill their kids whenever they want. Having to raise kids is something that has been unfairly foisted upon women by nature and the patriarchal society, and too many of them are utterly miserable and cannot live their lives to their fullest potential because of it. Casey Anthony looked so much happier in those party pics once she had been freed from the burdens placed upon her by the patriarchy! No one should be prosecuted for getting abortions, killing their children, making sacrifices to Moloch, etc. so long as they could claim them on their taxes or cover them under a group coverage policy. So, up to age 26, under current US law.
That isn’t what I am saying at all. I advocate doing away with a repressive, exploitative, and out-dated mode of production: capitalism. In doing so, we can create a communist society in which women are truly free from patriarchy and oppression. That means the freedom to abort unwanted or dangerous pregnancies at any point, as the fetus isn’t a human yet, but rather an extension of the woman’s body.
What you’re advocating is sociopathic.
HAHAHAHAHAHA!
And what will happen to all the unwanted babies that will be brought into the world…. Life for them wont be white pickets fences and puppies. There will also be a rise in child abuse. Sad that women have no choice.
I want to keep this opened, we need to keep this opened
Sigh…
HOW can some of you believe that a woman cannot choose if she wants to have an abortion or not? If you are PRO-LIFE; do not put others down for having or wanting or needing an abortion. That is not ‘OK’. People have lives, reasons, and other situations that YOU are not going threw in life. RESPECT THEM. Do you want your opinion to be respected? If so, then respects other views as well. PLEASE. ‘Cause putting others down about being pro-choice, doesn’t make you any better.
For example, I don’t see a child as ‘god’s blessing’.. It is a way of life. It is a bodily function. It is the reproduction system. It is science. We kill off baby animal fetus’ for science experiments, we allow our children to ‘dissect them’ to grow and learn from the body.. Why can we call an animal so easily, when we may be ‘humans’ – we are also ANIMALS. (Oh, and are you carnivores? You’re now a murderer… You can survive as a vegan or vegetarian).
People need to stop being SO concerned about what other people do with their life. If they do not or cannot have this child – let them decide that. NOT you. You have your own life and choices to be made.
Are you going to take on the 10,000 babies that would have been born? Can you afford the child, can you raise it in a GOOD home of love, comfort, food, warmth, clothing and shelter…
Our society is too worried about everyone else’s problems, and they never seem to make a better life for themselves. Be happy with yourself, and stop judging others.
Thank you, George Carlin. At least he got it :
Yes! If you’re against choice don’t have an abortion. I choose to keep my partners cells and mine (love our kids), but I’d like the state to leave my uterus alone.
This is a complex issue and I believe that both sides are conveniently ignoring several points.
First of all, this seems to be a ploy by the Morgentaler Clinic to bring attention to the issue. Because they don’t currently receive government funding, it is obviously in their best interest to lobby for that funding in order to increase their revenues and become profitable. And that’s fine but I’m not convinced that the clinic will actually close.
The numbers that have been presented certainly do not support the closing of the clinic. The clinic claims to be running at a loss of approximately $100,000 over the last decade or $10,000 per year. If they are performing 600-700 abortions per year, as they claim, that equates to a shortfall of under $20 per patient. Unless there’s something I’m missing (and there very well could be as obviously I do not have detailed financial information), this means that a modest increase in the price of each procedure would make up for this shortfall.
As someone who believes in the free market, I have a hard time being outraged that people need to pay for abortions that aren’t “medically necessary”. If someone wants an abortion and is willing to pay for it that’s fine, but I do not think it is the role of government to fund procedures that are not necessary for the well-being of the patient.
This is also an issue of personal responsibility. Becoming pregnant and relying on the government to solve that problem is forgoing personal responsibility. Contraception exists for a reason.
The people who staunchly believe that abortions should be publicly funded also don’t seem to be interested in reducing the numbers of abortions. Let’s face it, no one “likes” abortions. There are so many people who are unable to have children; instead of simply paying for abortions, I think that our public health system would be better off facilitating a system to find homes for unwanted babies. To me, that is a win-win scenario for all involved. It may not be as “convenient” as an abortion but it’s a small price to pay to keep some semblance of personal responsibility within our society intact.
Oh, dear. You have awakened the blame-the-victim-and-cry-murder beast here. There really are scores of us who are personal defenders of Life, but have a more practical worldview. Perhaps you could address the staunch pro-Lifers who believe “most” women seeking abortion are doing this for carefree convenience? It’s simply not true.
well if it wasn’t only for convenience it wouldnt be such a big deal to get 2 doctors to sign the papers but that’s the inconvenience you cant just walk in and kill a baby anymore (as of july) so therefore if it is not a medical reason the pregnancy needs to be terminated then it is only for convenience and used as a method of birth control there are options other then killing the child for starters don’t be so irresponsible and find a form a birth control and who cares if it cost the women 700 to 850 they could have save the whole situation with a $10 box of condoms. so good bye clinic hopefully the flatten the building and build a memorial for the 10000 babies who have been murdered there since opening and I like how the writer included the number of abortions preformed at this slaughter house like it something to be proud of. absolutely disgusting!!!!!
Really & truly. The world will be a better place when fascist forced birth terrorists like yourself are hunted to extinction.
Condoms and other birth control methods offer an efficacy of 95%.
Women should not be punished and should have choices if they have been responsible enough to use protection but the protection failed.
People should not have to travel great distances to access healthcare.
If you are against abortion – Don’t get one. It does not give you the right to stop others.
I am surprised this is happening in Canada.
well don’t look to taxes payers and the federal gov. for funding the deaths of babies and then tell us to shut up about if we pay for it we have the right to speak about it . how stupid do you sound saying if you don’t want an abortion don’t get one but pay for these scumbags with your tax dollars
This is ridiculous that people are seeing abortion as something that is necessary in their lives. For god’s sake, if you won’t be able to support a baby, have it and then give it up for adoption, or don’t have sex if your not ready to have a baby! If a woman was raped, I understand that is not her problem. It’s not the baby’s problem either. Have the baby, put it up for adoption to a loving family afterwards. The unborn are still humans, they still have nerves and these innocent children are going through so much pain in an abortion. This article claims that fighting for the clinic to be open again is going to make a “safer and caring” community. Open your eyes. Is murdering your own unborn child caring? Would a respectable parent do that? no. They wouldn’t. There’s something wrong with this world and abortion is a huge fraction of that.
This is a video called “180” and I think you all should watch it. It’s worth your time trust me.
Copy it into your URL to watch.
A very delicate topic… But let’s see if this author is actually addressing the right issue: “Women cannot choose to terminate a pregnancy unless two doctors agree that it is medically necessary.” The author seems surprised at this, that in the 21st century people, as well as many governments, still care about responsibility and accountability? How sad… I think many people forget the difference between abortion “on-demand” which operates as a drive-thru for “inconvenient” pregnancies (but who decided when it’s inconvenient?), and “necessary” medical procedures (BIG difference).
The author should think about what it means to be pregnant, (hint – it’s not an inconvenience, although it could often be a challenge), and encourage people to use the means we have in the 21st century, which should eliminate the bulk of abortions on-demand. Maybe change is in the air… ? Maybe it is time we go back a few decades, before “abortion on-demand,” but without resorting to the same cruel ways that existed before which made women victims of unscrupulous charlatans performing abortions on-demand in the back of their shop, alleys or vehicles. Or parents who decided to force their daughters to terminate their pregnancy instead of using the adoptions services.
We live in neither a secular or religious society. We live in a society with both secular and religious people. And we all have to protect life. And think about the utter terminal suffering the baby experiences. Anyone who calls “abortion on-demand” a “human” solution is delusional, and utterly disconnected. Maybe this will force people to finally have a serious conversation about abortion, and not just ride on the wave of the past decades. My .02.
A very delicate topic… But let’s see if this author is actually addressing the right issue: “Women cannot choose to terminate a pregnancy unless two doctors agree that it is medically necessary.” The author seems surprised at this, that in the 21st century people, as well as many governments, still care about responsibility and accountability? How sad… I think many people forget the difference between abortion “on-demand” which operates as a drive-thru for “inconvenient” pregnancies (but who decided when it’s inconvenient?), and “necessary” medical procedures (BIG difference).
The author should think about what it means to be pregnant, (hint – it’s not an inconvenience, although it could often be a challenge), and encourage people to use the means we have in the 21st century, which should eliminate the bulk of abortions on-demand. Maybe change is in the air… ? Maybe it is time we go back a few decades, before “abortion on-demand,” but without resorting to the same cruel ways that existed before which made women victims of unscrupulous charlatans performing abortions on-demand in the back of their shop, alleys or vehicles. Or parents who decided to force their daughters to terminate their pregnancy instead of using the adoptions services.
We live in neither a secular or religious society. We live in a society with both secular and religious people. And we all have to protect life. And think about the utter terminal suffering the baby experiences. Anyone who calls “abortion on-demand” a “human” solution is delusional, and utterly disconnected. Maybe this will force people to finally have a serious conversation about abortion, and not just ride on the wave of the past decades. My .02.
Sorry for the double posting, could you delete the duplicate? Thank you!
Wow, someone really silly wrote this. To much money to shell out. What about no sex or birth control???!!!! Goverment should not be paying to end a life. If this law was elsewhere people might be a little more responsible!!!!!
First off Birth Control is not 100% effective to those that claim, just use it. Not only that but should a poor or low income person not be allowed to indulge in their sextual natural instinct to avoid any chance of pregnancy? Do men have to deal with it? Do they have to be involved? NO!!! In many cases of abortion it is up to the woman. It is her choice if she wants to give life to another. Religion aside! If she doesn’t want that responsibility then why should she go through with a pregnancy, even if it were to end in adoption? (She would have to live a healthy lifestyle to ensure that baby’s health. As well as pre natal care and so on. Maybe she isn’t healthy, maybe she will take it out on the growing fetus, who is that helping???) All in all I feel women should be able to have an abortion if they damn well please. Fuck you all and have your babies, while your at it learn how to fucking raise them right!!
This service should be relocated in Moncton. As a hub city, Moncton is centrally located with a wider catchment area, taking in parts of PEI, Nova Scotia and most of New Brunswick. This is an important service and making it accessible in a larger population like Moncton and it’s catchment area might make it economically viable.
Not sure what they were thinking, putting an abortion clinic in New Brunswick’s Bible Belt of Fredericton, with a church in every corner and where the streets here are empty by at 9 pm at night. Strategic maybe. …logical?…no.
Condoms are less expensive than $850.
Abstinence cost $0.00
Common sense & children are priceless!
Also, less than 1% of abortions are due to rape.
Let a child settle this
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=3bLMNa3gWAo
I was just about to share the same video! Good on you, Phil!
I feel closing the clinic is a good thing. If a girl/women is old enough to be having consensual sex she also has to know what could happen. Why should a innocent baby give up its life because of the women’s irresponsible acts? This disgusts me that people think it is OK to kill a baby. They are not born but their heart beats just like yours and mine. If the woman does not want the baby she has 2 Choi es 1) adoption :how many people out there want kids and can’t have them? The number is surprising. 2) KEEP YOUR LEGS Closed. If I decided I no longer want to be a parent to a 2 year old and kill them it is murder, how is it different to a baby in the womb? That baby has a heart beat, finger prints, God knows what color eyes he/she will have. It is murder all ways around.
Hats off New Brunswick for finally closing the baby murder shop.
God bless all the babies that were murdered by their parents.
The sooner all evil fucking forced birth christo-fascist terrorists like yourself are shot dead on sight, the happier this planet will be.
Amen, brother. We don’t have the room for fascists on this planet.
Let the masses shed themselves of the fascist scum by any means necessary.
So… I would love to put this idea out there…
People get offended when someone steps in and tells women how to raise their own children… but we, women, can’t get a little angry, or heated… when someone else tells us, that we can or can not have a child, that choice is no longer our own.
Tell me, how does this make sense.
You raise your child on religion, to be atheist, anything…. and I can’t tell you thats wrong. But I choose ProChoice… and thats wrong.
Wake up people. Wake the hell up.
100% agree! It’s no ones buisness or choice but the woman in the situation!
Does it even make sense that you are wanting to save these women’s lives so they can murder their babies?… Oh, they are having an “unwanted” baby? .. Maybe people should be a whole lot more responsible when having sex. That’s how babies are made. Raped? Why does that sweet innocent baby have to be the one to lose its life? Adoption exists. Is it really the responsibility of the community or province to pay the price in funding for irresponsible people who want abortions? I wouldn’t want to give money away to a place that murders babies.
Wow! I’m sorry but the choice should have been made before a wonderful baby was created and there’s even plan b for women chat have been assaulted, how many couples are unable to have a child adoption is the only choice,for an unwanted pregnancy gesh!!
Those poor women who choose to kill there babies are haunted by it the rest of there life
What that most important part of all of this is. If you are not the one getting the abortion. Then why is it your business to speak so ignorantly about the ones who do. It is no ones business. At all. So everyone preaching and harping about all of this is just wasting their breath. Do you like it when someone sticks their opinion in your privet business??? No I hardly think so. So why don’t we all act like adults and let people make thier choice. Because in the end your opinion won’t be worth wasting your breath over. Common sense is NOT so common.
Someone has to stand up for those that don’t have a voice.
Someone has to stand up to the fascists like you.