On April 11, Canadian Atheist drew attention to this announcement
The Morgentaler abortion clinic in Fredericton will close at the end of July following a 20-year fight with the New Brunswick government over funding.
However, the conversation is not over! In an article in the Globe and Mail, Rachael Johnstone, an assistant professor at the Bader International Study Centre at Queen’s University, makes it clear: “New Brunswick shines a light on the fragile state of women’s reproductive rights.”
Johnstone’s final paragraph,
Almost three decades after abortion was decriminalized in Canada, it is time to revisit abortion policy in the provinces and its implications for the life and health of women. Most importantly, it is time to hold the federal and provincial governments to account for their treatment of women’s rights.
makes perfect sense. Furthermore, “it is time to hold the federal and provincial governments to account for their treatment of women’s rights” is not just a suggestion: it is a call to action.
Niki Ashton, NDP MP, Churchill-Manitoba, contributed an article to the Huffinton Post to let you know “What You Can Do to Fight For the Morgentaler Clinic”:
Take Action Now!
Download this sample letter from Gender-Focus and use it to contact the Federal Minister for Health, the Federal Minister for Status of Women, the Premier of New Brunswick, and your local Member of Parliament.
MP Rona Ambrose (Minister of Health)
rona.ambrose.c1a@parl.gc.ca,
613-996-9778
@MinRonaAmbrose
MP Kellie Leitch (Minister for the Status of Woman)
Kellie.Leitch@parl.gc.ca,
613-992-4224,
@KellieLeitch
Premier of New Brunswick
Reception : (506) 453-2144
Email : premier@gnb.ca
https://twitter.com/PremierNB
Join the New Brunswick Pro-Choice Facebook Group.
Join the Rally for Our Right to Accessible Abortion.
Sign the Change.Org Petition to fund services at the Morgentaler Clinic in Fredericton, NB.
Get in touch with the New Brunswick NDP to find out what this pro-choice party are doing to change the regulation: 1-844-NDP-NPD1 or email info@nbndp.ca
Anyone who cares about the rights of women in Canada, and that should mean everybody, should Take Action Now!
Thank you to Hj Hornbeck, Udo Schuklenk and Julia Casey for the information in this post.
Jason Thibeault. from Lousy Canuck, who “hail[s] from New Brunswick originally” posted on Dr Henry Morgentaler’s Legacy and has two guest posts by Tia Beaudoin, Political Science Honours graduate at University of New Brunswick, on “The Constitutionality of Abortion Policy in New Brunswick”: Cover and Introduction.