REGINA - Concerns about abortion access were a prominent issue at the Legislature on Wednesday.
The front of the Legislature was the scene of a women’s health rally which included leaders from Planned Parenthood, Abortion is Healthcare, Saskatoon Sexual Health Clinic, and the Regina Abortion Support Network. At that rally, concerns were raised about access to surgical abortions in the province.
In Question Period Wednesday, Opposition Status of Women Critic Jennifer Bowes raised the issue. She demanded to know from Health Minister Paul Merriman whether “he will ensure the same level of surgical access is made available in both Saskatoon and Prince Albert as the level of access available in Regina here at the Women’s Health Centre.”
In response Merriman noted most of their abortion surgeries were done in the major centres. “This is how things work for other surgical procedures in our province, you have to come to the major centre to be able to have that surgical process performed Mr. Speaker. This is no different.”
Bowes then pointed out different standards and unequal access depending on where you live in the province. “In Regina you can access surgical abortions without a referral up to 14 weeks of pregnancy. But in Saskatoon, you need a doctor’s referral and until recently could only access a surgical abortion up to 12 weeks. In Prince Albert, there is no access whatsoever to surgical abortions.”
Merriman acknowledged there “are some discrepancies between Saskatoon and Regina. We have identified and we’re working on the process to align those two timeframes.”
In speaking to reporters afterwards, the NDP spelled out what they were seeking. In particular, they called for greater access outside the major cities.
Bowes noted advocates were calling for access to surgical abortion in rural and remote areas, and “especially with P.A. being the gateway to the north.”
She again pointed to the disparities between Regina and Saskatoon. It was noted in Regina people can self-refer for an abortion through the Women’s Health Centre, but in Saskatoon they need to go through a doctor or Saskatoon Sexual Health.
The opposition also called for one centralized provincial intake, where any individual can call one centralized line and get the services they need.
“We’ve heard from stakeholders this is key,” Democracy and Ethics Critic Meara Conway said to reporters. She noted currently it was a patchwork system with no ability to self-refer in many communities.
A centralized line would also allow people “to circumvent the issue of hostile health care providers - providers unwilling to provide the care,” said Conway. She also noted PEI and Nova Scotia both had centralized intakes and those were “extremely effective.”
Bowes and Conway were joined by the supporters of abortion access who were at the legislature that day.
Caitlin Cottrell of Saskatoon Sexual Health Clinic said she was “distinctly disappointed with our government today and some of the comments they made about access not only to abortions, but other health care."
"We are told that universal healthcare is accessible to us. So in that, universality and accessibility are two of the key tenets of our universal healthcare system, and we are seeing a significant lack of that not only in abortion care, but across the board.”
Another in attendance was Megan Johnston representing Abortion is Healthcare. She has been an advocate to de-stigmatize the word “abortion” in the province.
“The first step to increasing access to abortion is decreasing shame,” said Johnston. “How can we advocate for abortion if we can’t say the word.”
Johnston noted she had been subjected to particular scrutiny as she entered the legislature building for the “Abortion is Healthcare” shirt she was wearing.
She was told by security she couldn’t wear the shirt into the building. Johnston was then escorted to the washroom, where she changed to wear the shirt inside-out.
During Question Period Bowes referred to the incident by remarking the “Premier’s private security detail” had “tried to remove” some of the group in the gallery. Speaker Randy Weekes responded by asking Bowes not to include the galleries in the debate.
Merriman responds to reporters
In speaking to reporters, Health Minister Merriman reiterated to reporters that they had noticed the discrepancies in abortion services, and they were still working on resolving them.
“The SHA has been working on straightening out and aligning most of these procedures,” said Merriman.
“This is something that hasn’t been done since the amalgamation of the health regions. So we are looking at lining up the time frames, and if there’s anything else we need to look at to make it consistent across the province, we’ll take that into consideration as well.”
As for whether they are considering Prince Albert offering those services, Merriman said “we haven’t determined all of the procedures that would be happening in Prince Albert, but is it under consideration? Yes.”
The indication from Merriman is they are not looking at other cities beyond Prince Albert at this time. “Again, most of our surgeries are done in the major centres so we want to keep them there, that’s where the surgeons are."
