Health minister walks back claim about abortion access in hospitals
Last week, Alberta Health Minister Adriana LaGrange played down concerns that transferring the operation of some hospitals to Covenant Health would negatively impact reproductive health care – but the minister’s claim about abortion access is contradicted by provincial policy and data.
On Sept. 3, in her first media appearance since plans to move underperforming Alberta hospitals to third-party operators were revealed, LaGrange told Corus radio host Shaye Ganam, "There is no anticipated change to access to women’s reproductive health."
The Catholic health authority Covenant Health does not provide things like in-vitro fertilization and abortion.
When Ganam pointed out that swapping AHS for Covenant would necessarily create changes to women’s health care, LaGrange dismissed the idea: "Actually, there won’t be (a change). Because right now no hospital in Alberta performs elective abortions."
However, elective abortions are available in some AHS hospitals in Alberta. Any physician or nurse practitioner in the province can provide Mifegymiso, commonly known as the abortion pill.
Data from Alberta Health and the Canadian Institute for Health Information estimate that between 25 and 40 per cent of abortions are now performed using medication rather than surgical procedures.
Notably, the North, Central, and South Zones accounted for about 20 per cent of total Mifegymiso doses dispensed in 2023.
A spokesperson for AHS confirmed in an email the drug is available in its facilities: "Mifegymiso is available on the AHS formulary for clinicians to use in clinically appropriate situations such as medical termination of second trimester pregnancies."
The drug is also used in the treatment of miscarriage.
Minister LaGrange’s office said in an email that in her previous statement, the minister "was referring to elective surgical abortions."
Surgical abortions are currently only performed in clinics in Edmonton and Calgary.
LaGrange’s office did not say whether the government had plans to ensure reproductive health care is safeguarded if a hospital's operator changes.
"We are continuing to evaluate this on an ongoing basis and are exploring all options to ensure we have the right partner delivering the services Albertans need."
Change would potentially make bad situation worse
If a faith-based operator does take over some Alberta hospitals, there is every reason to believe the move would reduce access to reproductive health care, said Carmen Wyton, chair of the Women's Health Coalition of Canada.
"It isn't just about abortion, it's about the reproductive experience that a woman may go through and how she's going to be treated in the system as she goes through those journeys. It could be infertility, it could be miscarriages, all those kinds of things," she said.
Wyton said research literature shows restricting access to abortion has major impacts on women’s health, including higher rates of maternal and neonatal mortality and morbidity in pregnant women.
"There is a stigma around the decisions that a woman might make for herself in terms of reproductive health, even contraceptive counselling, all of those things go hand-in-hand," she said. It's been reduced to abortion, but that really isn't what it's about.
"It's about the faith-based biases that get built into providing care to women for reproductive health in a manner that they choose. That's what's at risk, and it should be their choice."
Wyton also said that, while AHS facilities can provide elective abortions, that doesn’t mean the procedure is easily accessible in the province.
Despite being able to perform therapeutic abortions, some hospitals choose not to and continue to refer patients to specialized clinics instead. Policy changes that reduce access further would make "a bad situation, worse, potentially."
"The supports are already fragmented. And if some of those supports are now taken away from AHS, who at least has the longest history of being able to provide those supports, it becomes more fragile."
CTVNews.ca Top Stories
Federal government to further limit number of international students
The federal government will be further limiting the number of international students permitted to enter Canada next year. It's the government's latest immigration-related measure to address Canadians' ongoing housing and affordability concerns.
Search for suspect in Kentucky highway shooting ends with discovery of body believed to be his
Authorities say they believe the body of a man suspected of shooting and wounding five people on a Kentucky interstate highway has been found.
Here's why you should get all your vaccines as soon as possible
With all these shots, some Canadians may have questions about the benefit of each vaccine, whether they should get every shot and how often to get them, and if it's safe to get them all at once or if they should space them out.
Bloc MPs will vote confidence in Liberal government next week: Blanchet
The Conservatives' first shot at toppling the Liberal government is likely doomed to fail, after Bloc Quebecois Leader Yves-François Blanchet told reporters his MPs will vote confidence in the government.
'I'm here for the Porsche': Video shows brazen car theft in Mississauga
Video of a brazen daylight auto theft which shows a suspect running over a victim in a stolen luxury SUV has been released by police west of Toronto.
Exploding electronic devices kill 20, wound 450 in second day of explosions in Lebanon
Lebanon's health ministry said Wednesday that at least 20 people were killed and 450 others wounded by exploding electronic devices in multiple regions of the country. The explosions came a day after an apparent Israeli attack targeting pagers used by Hezbollah killed at least 12 and wounded nearly 3,000.
'It starts off innocent': Manitoba man loses $185,000 to crypto-romance scam
A Manitoba man is warning others after he fell victim to an elaborate online scam over the summer.
Teen faces new charge in Sask. high school arson attack
A 14-year-old student who allegedly set her classmate on fire is facing a new charge.
Quebec woman charged with first-degree murder in death of five-year-old boy
A 29-year-old Quebec woman is facing a first-degree murder charge in the death of a five-year-old boy southwest of Montreal.