Marine Ernoult / IJL – Réseau.Presse – La Voix acadienne
“Prince Edward Island has become the best province in the country for access to abortion, it’s anchored in the health system,” says Martha Jane Paynter, assistant professor in the Faculty of Nursing. from the University of New Brunswick.
The Summerside hospital has been offering abortion services since 2017. Before that date, patients had to travel to New Brunswick or Nova Scotia. They were faced with exorbitant costs and mountains of paperwork, explains Martha Jane Paynter.
“Today, they can go to Summerside much more easily,” she continues. It’s one of the best clinics in the country, the staff are extraordinary and dedicated.
Women have the choice between voluntary medical or instrumental termination of pregnancy. The first, which consists of taking a medicine called mifepristone, is possible up to nine or ten weeks of pregnancy. About 60% of abortions on the island are performed this way.
1 in 3 Canadian women affected
According to Martha Jane Paynter, telemedicine “revolutionized” access. Thanks to online medical consultations, women no longer need to travel, “except to take a blood test and pick up the medication at the pharmacy,” she explains.
Instrumental abortion, a surgical technique requiring anesthesia and brief hospitalization, is performed only by doctors up to sixteen weeks of pregnancy. Beyond that, women must go outside the province.
Abortion, free for holders of a provincial health card, remains chargeable for international students and temporary foreign workers.
“We have to change that, it’s a question of equality,” insists Martha Jane Paynter. An abortion costs a few hundred dollars while an unwanted pregnancy costs society much more.”
While the right to abortion is in decline in the United States, Martha Jane Paynter believes that “the environment is completely different” on this side of the border: “There are still concerns, but we see much more improvements for us.”
For his part, Teale Phelps Bondaroff, president of the AccessBC campaign, which campaigns for free prescription contraception, believes that there is still work to be done.
“The fight for reproductive justice is a long battle. What is happening in the United States shows us that we must continue to fight to defend what we have.”
Teale Phelps Bondaroff is campaigning to make prescription birth control methods free across the country.
PHOTO: Courtesy
Make contraception free
To counter the message coming from the United States, Martha Jane Paynter insists on the importance of destigmatizing abortion and improving access to information.
In his eyes, too many islanders still don’t even know that there are services available near them.
“We need to normalize discussions, do more education. One in three women in Canada have had an abortion in their life, it’s super normal and common,” she explains.
The other issue in terms of reproductive health is access to contraceptive methods. In the province, intrauterine devices (or IUDs), oral contraceptive pills, implants or hormone injections are chargeable and can cost up to $500.
The Women’s Health Program only covers the cost of IUDs for patients who do not have private health insurance.
“It should be free, it’s a question of gender equality and ethics, and it helps prevent unwanted pregnancies,” emphasizes Teale Phelps Bondaroff.
So far, only British Columbia and Manitoba have made prescription contraception free. At the federal level, Prime Minister Justin Trudeau has promised free access to prescription contraceptive methods in the future national drug insurance program.
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