The clinic says New Brunswick's strict abortions laws,which they say make it nearly impossible for women to terminate pregnancies in a hospital, are the reason for the closure. According to Clinic Manager Simone Leibovitch, the current laws make terminating a pregnancy difficult for women in the following ways:
-Women cannot get an abortion in a hospital unless referred by a family doctor
-Many doctors are pro-life and will not make the referral
-Hospitals have long wait lists, meaning women will often be past the 14-week gestation limit by the time they get an appointment
Due to these strictures, the clinic has subsidized over $100,000 dollars for procedures for New Brunswick women in the past decade. They say they can no longer afford to provide abortion services that are not publicly funded.
In other provinces, abortions are covered under Medicare and are more readily available at hospitals.
