Pan-Canadian day of action for Reproductive Justice - Equal Access Now!

TORONTO, Sept. 19, 2014 /CNW/ - In advance of the New Brunswick provincial election, the Abortion Rights Coalition of Canada (ARCC) and the Ontario Coalition for Abortion Clinics (OCAC) are calling a rally in Toronto as part of a Pan-Canadian Day of Action for Reproductive Justice - Equal Access Now! Saturday Sept. 20, 11:00 am at Lake Devo, Ryerson University (at Victoria St and Gould St). Events will also be taking place in Halifax, Charlottetown, Vancouver, Montreal, and cities across New Brunswick.

With the New Brunswick provincial election on Monday September 22, reproductive justice activists stand in solidarity with women in New Brunswick and P.E.I. calling for the repeal of NB Regulation 84-20 which requires that two doctors sign off that an abortion is "medically required" and that it must be performed in a hospital by an OB/GYN. We also call for the repeal Medical Services Payment Act, Section 2.01, which prohibits government funding of "entitled services furnished in a private hospital facility in the Province".

People across Canada support this call, and demand that the federal government enforce the Canada Health Act which guarantees equal access to medical services to ALL women across the country.  Equal access and reproductive justice means: maternal health includes abortion, reproductive healthcare for all including refugees, and the right to bear the children we choose with support to raise the children we bear.

"With the provincial election in New Brunswick taking place on Monday it's very important that we show our solidarity with those who are fighting for full access to medically ensured abortions in that province. The right to this basic health service should not be denied" says Michelle Robidoux of OCAC.

Speakers:  
Wanda Whitebird, No More Silence; Melissa Graham, Disability Pride organizer; Niaz Salimi, Iranian community activist; Rathika Sitsabaiesan, MP Scarborough-Rouge River; Andria Babbington, VP Toronto & York Region Labour Council; Marie Clarke Walker, Exec VP, Canadian Labour Congress; Peggy Cooke, Clinic Escort; Anjali Kulkarni, Medical Students for Choice; Michelle Robidoux, OCAC; The event will be MC'd by Jordana Greenblatt, OCAC.

Background: The Morgentaler Clinic in Fredericton was forced to close its doors in July because the government refused to fund it.  Women in New Brunswick face a crisis of access with the closure of the clinic, which performed between 600 and 700 abortions per year. 10% of those were for women from PEI, where there are no services.

Making abortion illegal, unavailable or inaccessible only drives it underground as global figures show with an estimated 47,000 deaths occurring yearly.

Links for actions taking place across Canada on September 20^th:

National Day of Action page https://www.facebook.com/events/551179511655500/?fref=ts

Halifax: https://www.facebook.com/events/780975405298334/

New Brunswick (several cities): https://www.facebook.com/events/330343923809712/

Charlottetown: https://www.facebook.com/events/749681305098414/

Montréal: https://www.facebook.com/events/284717198387009/

Toronto: https://www.facebook.com/events/902219373124893/

Vancouver: https://www.facebook.com/events/1503188986585849/  

Additional Resources:

RJNB website (http://rjnb.org/),

ARCC's new NB website (www.abortionaccessnb.ca) 

SOURCE: Ontario Coalition for Abortion Clinics (OCAC)

For further information: contact Carolyn Egan at 416-806-7985.