New Brunswick to allow medicare to pay for surgical abortions outside hospitals

New Brunswick Premier Susan Holt announced today that medicare will now cover surgical abortions that are administered outside hospitals in the province.

Access to abortions in clinics has been restricted across New Brunswick because the government only covered the cost of the surgical procedures if they were performed in one of three hospitals.

Holt, whose Liberals came to power in an election last month, calls the change an important first step to improve abortion access.

She says New Brunswick will now be aligned with most other provinces by covering the cost of abortions whether they are administered in hospitals or clinics.

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Her government’s next step is to work with groups, including the province’s medical society and regional health authorities, to establish how abortions will be provided in communities.

The previous Progressive Conservative government had refused to pay for surgical abortions outside hospitals, saying women across the province had access to medical abortions, which are administered with prescription medication.