Abortion Policy ‘Not a Priority’ for New Brunswick Minister of Health

New Brunswick’s new Minister of Health, Mike Murphy, said that the province’s abortion policy is not a priority, according to an article in the Telegraph-Journal. “To be very truthful, in the last two months it hasn’t come up on my agenda whatsoever. There’s no plan for change that I know of at the present time,” Murphy said in the article.

We at NAF were very surprised at Minister Murphy’s statement. We have been in touch by letter and phone with his office and have a meeting scheduled with him in January to discuss access to abortion care in New Brunswick.

Even though there is no law restricting abortion in Canada, access to publicly-funded abortion care remains a problem for many women. Only abortions provided by obstetrician-gynecologists in hospital settings with approval from two physicians are eligible for public funding in New Brunswick. This policy is a clear violation of the Canada Health Act.