N.B. abortion access a work in progress one year after policy change

Jacques Poitras · CBC News

· Posted: Nov 06, 2025 5:00 AM EST | Last Updated: November 6

One twelvemonth aft the New Brunswick authorities eliminated the past ineligible bounds connected entree to surgical abortions, there’s been nary existent alteration to wherever the work is available.

Three hospitals successful 2 cities are inactive offering the service, but nary clinics extracurricular hospitals person taken vantage of the Nov. 7, 2024, regulatory change.

Doctors who were prepared a twelvemonth agone to connection it successful their practices successful communities look to beryllium “less interested” than they were, according to Health Minister John Dornan.

“That’s up to the idiosyncratic practitioners,” helium said.

“They haven’t stepped up to accidental ‘We privation to commencement to bash this,’ and truthful if they do, we are acceptable to beryllium capable to enactment that, but the assemblage of physicians who would bash this person not asked america for that, frankincense far.”

WATCH | ‘We are acceptable to beryllium capable to enactment that’: Minister says barriers remain:

Martha Paynter, a reproductive wellness researcher who is portion of the New Brunswick Abortion Care Network, says it’s not a surprise. 

“We didn’t expect determination to beryllium a caller session close away,” she said. “The request for procedural termination is falling twelvemonth implicit year, and the resources it would instrumentality to commencement a freestanding session would beryllium rather significant.”

Just days aft being sworn successful past fall, Premier Susan Holt repealed a conception of a provincial regularisation that said Medicare could lone money surgical abortions successful hospitals.

It marked the extremity of a agelong governmental conflict that centred connected Clinic 554, a signifier successful Fredericton’s downtown that lobbied for Medicare to money abortions performed there.

“We judge that termination is wellness attraction and that everyone deserves entree to the attraction that they need, erstwhile and wherever they request it,” Holt said astatine past year’s announcement, wherever she held up the furniture bid that repealed the restriction.

But she besides said that surgical abortions “will not go [more] accessible tomorrow” arsenic a effect of the change.

Premier Susan Holt holds the furniture bid officially repealing the prohibition connected Medicare backing for procedural abortions performed extracurricular hospitals. (Jacques Poitras/ CBC)

Dornan and Paynter some said the main crushed doctors person not added the work to their clinics is the increasing usage of medicine abortions.

The state funds Mifegymiso, a operation of 2 pills that immoderate doc oregon caregiver practitioner tin prescribe that terminates a gestation and is little intrusive than surgery.

The state funded 724 claims for prescriptions successful 2020-21, a fig that roseate to 1,224 past year.

This year, the fig is connected gait to transcend 1,300.

“Year implicit year, we’re seeing these scrips increase, increase, increase, and the termination complaint itself is not rising,” Paynter said.

“We cognize that from nationalist data. So we tin presume that much and much radical are choosing medicine abortion.” 

That means the preoccupation with entree successful a carnal installation is progressively outdated, Paynter said, pointing to a superior attraction session successful downtown Fredericton, wherever a fig of doctors and caregiver practitioners prescribe Mifegymiso.

They tin besides prescribe it virtually.

“The terrain has changed truthful much,” Paynter said.Questions remain, however.

Mifegymiso is not prescribed aft the ninth week of a pregnancy, and patients who request surgical abortions indispensable inactive question to the lone hospitals offering them, successful Bathurst and Moncton, which Dornan says tin correspond a barrier.

Paynter said there’s a scarcity of information connected however galore patients person to marque the travel and however agelong it takes, and connected whether delays are being reduced.

 “We deliberation we’ve improved things but we truly request that information … to beryllium capable to reply that successful a truly precise way.” 

Martha Paynter is simply a reproductive wellness researcher who is portion of the New Brunswick Abortion Care Network. She said there's a request for information connected radical travelling for abortions. (Mikael Mayer/Radio-Canada)

Some patients who are misinformed astir the service, oregon who don’t cognize however to entree the service, whitethorn hold excessively agelong and beryllium forced to question extracurricular the state precocious successful their pregnancies.

The curate said he’s “pretty confident” galore don’t recognize “the subtleties” of the assorted options.

“They mightiness not cognize wherever to turn,” helium said.

A promised toll-free telephone enactment volition motorboat “very soon,” dedicated to providing patients with much accusation astir their options and however to navigate the system, Dornan said.

He’ll besides look astatine whether much information connected question to Moncton and Bathurst tin beryllium made available.

He said his “gut feeling” is that the question remains a obstruction for immoderate patients, and helium urged advocacy groups to fto the section oregon doctors cognize astir radical they whitethorn not different perceive from. 

Dornan besides said cosmopolitan contraception coverage, promised successful the 2024 Liberal throne speech, volition happen, whether a pharmacare statement is signed with the national authorities oregon not.