Canadian Prime Minister Justin Trudeau is punishing the province of New Brunswick for limiting taxpayer funding for abortions.
On Tuesday, the pro-abortion prime minister said his administration will stop giving federal health care funding to the province because it is limiting access to abortions, The Canadian Press reports. Trudeau also claimed the province is violating the Canada Health Act.
The New Brunswick law is far from extreme. The province covers elective abortions with taxpayer dollars at three public hospitals. Its law only prohibits taxpayer funding for elective abortions at private abortion facilities.
According to the Canadian Press, a spokesperson for the Trudeau administration said New Brunswick will be defunded by about $140,216.
But Tabitha Ewert, legal counsel for We Need a Law, a national campaign dedicated to advocating for legal restrictions on abortion in Canada, said the Trudeau administration misinterpreted the Canada Health Act.
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“The Canada Health Act was passed in the 1980s as a vehicle for the federal government to assist provinces with health care costs,” Ewert said. “It was never meant to usurp provincial government’s ability to administer health care as that would be unconstitutional. Rather, it outlines basic principles that guide funding while still respecting that provincial governments are in the best position to address the health care needs of their residents and have the ability to customize their health care plans accordingly.”
She pointed out that many medically necessary services are not covered by public funding, including dental work, psychiatry and optometry.
“There is no reason abortions performed at a private clinic should be given special consideration,” Ewert said.
In New Brunswick, the only independent abortion facility is Clinic 554 in Fredericton, which advertises abortions up to 16 weeks of pregnancy. It charges $700 to $850 per abortion, according to its website.
The Canadian Civil Liberties Union also is challenging the New Brunswick law in court, the report states.
