anti-choice group plans to shock women into remaining pregnant

(Daily Gleaner Photo)

For the past two weeks, Frederictonians have been confronted on their streets by a group of protestors from Burnt River, ON calling themselves "Show the Truth". Their truth includes displaying large posters depicting inaccurate and doctored photos of supposedly aborted fetuses (when in fact the photos all show images of fetuses and babies much too far along the development path). Wednesday night the Morgentaler clinic was vandalized with spray-paint.

The city is in an uproar over the images, which keep popping up at various intersections and at City Hall. The rhetoric behind the city's anger is quite troubling, as everyone is SO careful to state that the problem is with the images, not the issue.
Wrong!! The problem here is that a group of righteous religious zealots have decided they know what is best for every single woman in Canada. And they are taking their message to your town, and pushing their misinformation and shock tactics in your face. The cruel irony here is that New Brunswick is the only province that DOES NOT provide abortions!!! All women in the province must go to the private Morgentaler clinic and pay up to $700 out of her own pocket for this essential health service.

Truly, it doesn't matter whether their depictions of aborted fetuses are accurate or not--the point is that the anti-choicers are a group of self-appointed saviours who want to force women to bring children into the world, no matter the circumstances, quality of life, emotional and physical distress, or ability to parent.

This week Frederictonians decided they'd had enough, and a group of 30 protestors gathered in front of City Hall to block the anti-choice mob from view. Holding up their own posters, umbrellas, shirts, and blankets, this group demonstrated it's about both the images AND the issue. A young woman obscures a grotesque poster with her own, stating "If you can't trust me to choose, how can you trust me with a child?"

My sister Liane participated in the counter-protest, and will be posting a description of events here soon.

In the meantime, I'm putting up a letter I have written to Brad Green, Minister of Health, regarding the province's decision to STOP providing ALL abortions as of June 30. Please feel free to send it along to Hon Green, as well as your MLA, and Fed. Health Minister Tony Clement.

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Re: Immediate Action Required to Reinstate Abortion Services

Dear Honourable Brad Green;

I am writing you on the urgent matter of abortion availability in New Brunswick. Women in NB have not had access to provincially-funded abortions since June 30. This is a gross injustice and is putting the lives and health of women at risk.

Please act immediately to ensure:
1. The Chalmers Hospital begins performing fully-funded abortions at once
2. At least one other hospital in the province also offers this essential service
3. Provincial funding for the Morgentaler clinic in Fredericton.
4. The immediate repeal of Regulation 84-20, Schedule 2(a.1)) of New Brunswick's Medical Services Payment Act, which states that abortions can only be funded by Medicare with the approval of two doctors and must be performed at a hospital. This regulation violates women's constitutional rights, as well as all five principles of the Canada Health Act (comprehensiveness, universality, accessibility, portability, and public administration). In addition, NB is the only province in Canada that requires this unconstitutional process.

In the current emergency situation, all NB women are being forced to have abortions at the privately operated Morgentaler clinic in Fredericton, if they are fortunate enough to afford this essential service. The cost is $600 to $700, and the procedure can only take place on a Tuesday morning. By forcing all women to obtain abortions at a private clinic the province is not only violating women’s rights, but is also discriminating against low-income women. Women from Northern NB or other regions must pay and arrange for transportation to Fredericton, obtain leave from work, and possibly arrange and pay for childcare on top of the unconstitutional clinical fee. This situation is unacceptable and must be dealt with immediately.

In closing, I would like to thank you for your efforts so far in reaching a resolution to this important rights issue. To have only one private clinic serving the medical needs of an entire province is disgraceful, and demonstrates how little the government of New Brunswick cares about the health and lives of its female citizens.

Please guarantee the province’s commitment to providing fully-funded, non-commitee approved abortions, to women of all incomes and in their own region.

This is not a wish-list; it is the province’s duty.

Sincerely,


Michelle Lovegrove Thomson


Honourable Brad Green, Minister of Health
Carleton Place
P. O. Box 5100
Fredericton,  NB
E3B 5G8
Brad.Green@gnb.ca

Minister for Status of Women Joan Macalpine-Stiles: Joan.Macalpine@gnb.ca

Health Ministor Tony Clement: Clement.T@parl.gc.ca