Abortion Advocates Buy Canadian Abortion Facility to Seek Govt. Money

National   |   Steven Ertelt   |   Apr 9, 2004   |   9:00AM   |   WASHINGTON, DC

Abortion Advocates Buy Canadian Abortion Facility to Seek Govt. Money

by Paul Nowak
LifeNews.com Staff Writer
April 9, 2004

Winnipeg, Canada (LifeNews.com) — In an apparent attempt to seek more government-funded abortions, 18 women have purchased an abortion business from notorious abortionist Henry Morgentaler. As the sale has made the renamed "Jane’s Clinic" a non-profit, the new owners now expect the government to pick up the bill for abortions performed there.

"They have always stalled, citing one reason or another," Amanda Le Rougetel, chair of Jane’s Clinic’s board, said of the Manitoba provincial government’s refusal to fund abortion services. "We were tired of waiting and so we took matters into our own hands."

The former owner of the business, Morgentaler, has fought continually for taxpayer-funded abortions in Canada, including lawsuits against the provinces of New Brunswick, Nova Scotia, Manitoba, and Prince Edward Island to force them to pay for abortions at his businesses with tax dollars.

Morgantaler opened the Winnipeg facility, his second, in 1983. As of April 1, the clinic has been re-named and is operating under its new owners, which have been forced to been raise prices for services, because the Winnipeg facility is no longer part of Morgantaler’s chain of abortion businesses, which have helped share the costs.

Currently, Ontario, British Columbia and Alberta pay for abortions with taxpayer dollars.

Healthy Living Minister Jim Rondeau has said that abortions were not covered at Morgentaler’s facility because it was a privately owned business. Rondeau stated that despite the status change abortions at Jane’s Clinic will not be funded with taxpayer dollars.

Le Rougetel said the facility will submit medical claims to Manitoba Health, expecting them to be paid regardless of Rondeau’s opposition.

"We are going to throw down the gauntlet. That’s what this is about," Le Rougetel said. "Let’s force the hand and see what is the real issue here that the Doer government has with abortion services in a clinic setting."

Last November Morgantaler closed his Hailfax facility, as it was no longer profitable. In 1999, Morgantaler had admitted that the Hailfax business was being supported by revenues at his other facilities.

Morgentaler has successfully defended himself against criminal charges for performing abortions in provinces such as Quebec and Ontario. In 1988, the Supreme Court of Canada struck down as unconstitutional a section of the Criminal Code under which he had been charged.