On Nov. 7, recently elected New Brunswick Premier Susan Holt repealed Regulation 84-20, the legal restriction that limited the public funding for procedural abortions outside of hospitals.
This unique regulatory restriction to New Brunswick has been in the province for over 40 years and now that it has been lifted, advocates for reproductive rights hope this change will address the many barriers there are in accessing surgical abortions in the province.
“We believe, in terms of comprehensive health care, all options should be available to people. People should have the choice if they want a medical abortion or a procedural abortion,” said Tracy Glynn, Canada Health Coalition director of operations and projects and founder of Reproductive Justice NB.
In New Brunswick, only three hospitals offer medical abortion treatments, prescribing the drug Mifegymiso which includes Mifepristone and Misoprostol tablets. Two of these hospitals are in Moncton and one is in Bathurst.
Glynn explained that with the elimination of the regulatory restriction, the geographical and financial barriers—resulting from the need to travel—on abortion services in the province might be resolved. This would allow local clinics to incorporate these treatments which now can be covered by Medicare.
With the promise from the Liberal government to implement collaborative health centres, Glynn hopes these new establishments can further breach some of the barriers that can affect marginalized communities the most, as this type of health care would be more accessible locally.
“The studies actually show that clinics can be safer, more patients prefer clinics because maybe they’re able to access counseling [and] other kinds of services,” she said. “They’re just more friendly, welcoming places, [with] more privacy.”
Earlier this year, the closing of Clinic 554 saw the end of clinic-based abortions in the Fredericton area. They closed due to the financial pressures caused by providing pro-bono work to individuals who couldn’t afford to pay for surgical abortions without the coverage of Medicare.
Glynn champions establishments like Clinic 554 saying that their “anti-oppressive, non-judgmental and trauma-informed care” is necessary for those demographics who are often marginalized in the health care system, like the 2SLGBTQ+ community.
Related: The legacy of Clinic 554
She hopes the new collaborative healthcare clinics can be modeled after Clinic 554.
“Clinic 554 was providing not just abortion services, but other kinds of services that marginalized communities were able to access and they should have been supported,” said Glynn.
“I’m hoping that the legacy of Clinic 554 lives on in these new collaborative centres that will hopefully be able to provide a suite of healthcare services.”
Like Glynn, Fredericton MP Jenica Atwin recognizes the importance of these types of establishments in communities.
Throughout her career, Atwin has lobbied the provincial and federal governments for better access to abortion services.
Atwin was able to get a federal grant of $366,000 in 2021 to conduct research to improve abortion services in the province. The report was finalized in 2023 and it proved that providing abortion services in local clinics was more accessible and preferred by communities.
“I was grateful to work with the federal government to ensure we had accurate research and data because that was one of the things the province kept coming back at us with,” said Atwin.
She also advocated for Clinic 554 and the work of Dr. Edgar, calling him a “trailblazer” for his and his staff’s dedication to the health and wellbeing of marginalized groups in the community. For her, it was heartbreaking to see the clinic close due to the valuable work she believed they provided.
“It wasn’t just abortion care; it was about gender-affirming care [and] trans care, which can be very complex and you need that kind of expertise,” she said. “It was even where you could go get an IUD in the city.”
Atwin said that with the elimination of the regulatory policy, a door is opening to once again fill the gaps that exist within the services created by the provincial government’s previous unwillingness to cover procedures with public funds.
“I’m hoping that [with] 84-20 regulation being in the past, we can all move forward and those that want to open those supportive care clinics and reproductive rights clinics that they do that,” she said. “Only time will tell for sure.”
