New Brunswick Happy Dance

First, the news that New Brunswick is entering the 20th century on women's rights.

Next, some celebratory media releases from groups that worked their butts off for this:

Reproductive Justice New Brunswick,
Sexual Health and Rights, and
Abortion Rights Coalition of Canada.

And a sample of the predictable and ridiculous foot-stomping from the Fetus Freaks: LifeShite and Fetal Gore Pr0n Gang.

Here at DJ!, where we like to think we helped a little, the main take-aways are:

1. This is a grand success for a new generation of reproductive justice activists. It looks good on them and must feel fabulous and empowering.

2. The mouldy old men and their antiquated views on women are finally succumbing to the reality of modern pro-choice Canada, or as this writer puts it, we may be entering a more enlightened time on women's issues.

Of course, while Premier Gallant addressed his promise on access surprisingly quickly and with minimum fuss, there's more to do, principally to take abortion out of the exclusive purview of hospitals and widen access by funding the procedure in clinics and doctors' offices.

One quick and easy way to widen access -- not just for women in Atlantic Canada, but for all Canadian women, especially those in rural and remote areas -- is for Health Canada to stop dragging its feet and finally approve the "gold standard" of medical abortion.

While lamenting the general state of access in Canada, this Canadian Medical Association Journal article seems hopeful on the issue.

And here, Vicky Saporta may be tempting the Goddesses.

The drug is currently up for review by Health Canada, and some close to the process believe a ruling will be made in January 2015, according to Vicki Saporta, president of the National Abortion Federation.

So, with a loud KNOCK WOOD, here's our happy dance.

Next, PEI.

UPDATE: Contributed by DJ! pal trapdinawrpool:

Update on the Save the Clinic Campaign

All along, the fundraising campaign by Reproductive Justice New Brunswick was nothing more than a stop-gap, intended to ensure the continuing possibility of an abortion clinic that accepted self-referring patients.

Having hit the initial goal of $100,000 last week, yesterday they announced they're raising their sights in order to buy necessary equipment.

The words "Thank you" don't feel big enough to express the gratitude that we at Reproductive Justice New Brunswick are feeling right now. To surpass our original goal in the first 2 weeks of our campaign? There are no words! Thank you, thank you all, for your support.

We are still a long way from our final goals, however. Negotiations continue with the owner of the former Morgentaler Clinic to secure an agreement to manage the building. Now we are asking for your support and enthusiasm to move forward with Phase 2 of our goals. For a further $85,000 we can potentially buy all the equipment currently located at the clinic; equipment that is required to provide a full range of reproductive health services.  It’s a bargain we don’t want to miss but we need your help. 

RJNB will also continue to lobby the New Brunswick government to change Regulation 84/20 that requires a woman to have the procedure deemed "medically necessary" in writing by an OB-GYN and another doctor, in order to obtain a publicly funded abortion in one of 2 hospitals.

The government still refuses to even meet with us to discuss a change. Until the people of New Brunswick have the same right as other Canadians to the reproductive health care of their choice, where and when they want it, we will never have true equality in New Brunswick. RJNB, with your help, pledges to continue the fight until the people of the Maritimes have access to a full range of publicly funded reproductive health services.

That the Conservative government won't even meet with them is hardly a surprise, but given an upcoming provincial election that the Liberals seem poised to win, this is a little harder to stomach.

Federal Liberal Leader Justin Trudeau’s pro-choice stand is reverberating through New Brunswick, where abortion-rights activists are vowing to make the closing of the Fredericton Morgentaler clinic an election issue – and the provincial Liberal leader is offering little support.

Justin and Brian look pretty cozy here, don't they?

Maybe chicken-shit Gallant is scared of people like this.

Some New Brunswickers, such as Kelly Seale, want less access to abortions, not more.

"Soon as I walk by there, I feel a very strong feeling of the devil. Yeah," said Seale, who works at an anti-abortion centre next door to the clinic.

Well, OK then. The anti-Satan voting bloc must be MASSIVE in Brunswick.

Here's a good round-up on the state of abortion access in Canada by Press Progress. Graphic is from Canadians for Choice.

If you were thinking of donating but didn't get around to it, then thought "Great, they've hit their goal," please think again.

Something else you could do is simply tell someone about the situation in NB and PEI. From the comments at the fundraising site, on various media stories, and blogs like Trashy's World, it's clear that there are a shit-ton of Canadians who have no idea what Maritime women are up against.

Most Canadians consider abortion a non-issue, a done deal -- and are shocked to find out that that's a big fat lie for thousands of us.

New Brunswick Activists Push Back, Canadians Respond Generously

I've been watching the fundraising efforts by Reproductive Justice New Brunswick. They are trying to raise $100,000 to secure the lease on the Fredericton Morgentaler Clinic, which is closing this week.

At about 8:30 this morning, the total stood at $18,400 with just 17 days left in the campaign.

Sometime soon after that, a piece in the Globe and Mail titled "Abortion in New Brunswick: The vise tightens, and activists push back" appeared.

By 11 a.m., the total had zoomed to more than $32,000 and as of just now (6:30 p.m.) it stands at more than $51,000.

As comments at the fundraising site and on the Globe article indicate, people across the country are shocked by the New Brunswick government's cavalier attitude towards women's rights. Canadians find it appalling that not all of us have equal access to healthcare. Some of us were under the impression that we'd fought this battle and won.

Surprise!

Donations are not the answer of course. This is merely a stop-gap.

The goal is to force the NB government to repeal its idiotic Regulation 84-20 so that women of the province can have medicare-funded, self-referred abortions like other Canadians.

And no, we haven't forgotten Prince Edward Island, where the attitude towards women's healthcare is similarly antediluvian.

If you can, please consider a donation and spread the word among your friends and networks.

For those who prefer to use cheques, you can mail them to Reproductive Justice New Brunswick at PO Box 761, Stn. A, Fredericton NB E3B 5B4.

Here's a tweet from one of the organizers today.

In my life, I have never felt more love in my heart than I do today. This adopted kid is forever grateful. #NBProchoice #SaveTheClinic

— Kathleen Pye (@KathleenCanada) July 14, 2014

UPDATE: The Star.

UPDATE (July 15/14, 5:45 p.m.): On Twitter, I've been razzing CBC all day about this story not being newsworthy enough to cover. As the numbers zoomed up today -- from $64K at 7 a.m. this morning to $75K just after noon to over $82K now -- I kept at them. Finally, the magic number was reached. At $82K they weighed in. Maybe now that the goal of $100K looks assured, they can rest easy that they won't be accused of being anything so wildly anti Conservative Canadian as pro-healthcare for all.

Feminism: This Is How It's Done Now

We old farts remember the Abortion Caravan, Canada's first national feminist protest in 19fucking70.

It seems we haven't come a whole helluva long way since. In New Brunswick, women still need the permission of TWO doctors to obtain a medicare-paid abortion.

For years, the Morgentaler Clinic provided a pressure release valve, enabling at least those women who could pay to get the same medical care that most Canadians (except in poor PEI too) had fully funded.

After running at a loss since its opening, the clinic is closing this month.

The Government of New Brunswick -- which, by the way, does not need to change a law but merely a regulation to right this idiotic situation -- was warned months ago.

How did it respond? It sent women wanting information on abortion to fake clinics run by religious anti-abortion nuts.

Yep. In Canada. Not Louisiana or Kansas. In Canada.

The good people of NB are, as usual, light-years ahead of their government and have taken matters into their own hands.

This is how kickass feminists do things now.

They are crowdsourcing the first step -- ensuring that the lease on the building is funded.

Reproductive Justice NB has begun an effort to lease the existing Morgentaler Clinic in Fredericton. The collective is in discussion with the building’s owners to enter into a lease agreement and further explore options to encourage family practitioners who support a person’s right to full reproductive services, including the right to abortion. The estimate cost of the lease agreement is $100,000.

While securing a lease agreement is a bandaid solution and does not automatically mean New Brunswickers will have improved abortion access, it does give the people of New Brunswick a fighting chance to access their rights under the Charter of Rights and the Canada Health Act.

Please consider helping Reproductive Justice New Brunswick reach this important goal.

Every donation, however large or small, is one step closer to ensuring reproductive choice in New Brunswick. Unless this oppressive regulation is overturned, New Brunswickers will not have equal access to abortion services. If Reproductive Justice NB is unable to raise the full $100,000, all money raised will go towards renewed efforts to overturn the Medical Services Payment Act.

Fact sheet (pdf) here.

As a former kickass young feminist too poor to do anything but protest back then, I salute the newest generation and have donated a few bucks. If you can't, please help spread the word.


ADDED: The media release from Reproductive Justice New Brunswick.

ADDED: Media coverage. CBC.

Getting Physical in New Brunswick

In New Brunswick, it is certainly Game On.

A new organization, Reproductive Justice New Brunswick, has organized a Twitter campaign for this week. It targets specific anti-choice legislators each day.

Please support this uprising using hashtags #NBProchoice and #ProchoixNB.

A bit of a snag. Like antediluvian governments elsewhere, New Brunswick refuses to acknowledge electronic communication as real. Convenient, eh?

Somebody has come up with a work-around. Send your emails here for printing and mailing.

As the tagline states: Let's get physical. And force New Brunswick into the 21st century.

Anti-Choice: Voice in the Wilderness

Further to my most recent post, there are more indications that the fetus fetishists are increasingly nervous, especially over renewed resolve and activism in New Brunswick.

From the recent NB Liberal policy meeting:

The most significant shift from the weekend came on abortion rights as two resolutions were overwhelmingly approved by grassroots members. The resolutions broke from the policy first established by former Liberal premier Frank McKenna.

The two policies refer to family planning services and reproductive health but the meaning was clear: with the pending closure of the Morgentaler clinic, Liberals now support greater access to abortion in hospitals.

Wendy Robbins, a Liberal member, helped draft the wording of the resolutions.

"This is a clear signal that the party's moving beyond the position it's held in the past,” she said.

Even more interesting -- and encouraging to us sane people -- is this from a Telegraph-Journal story (behind paywall).

Geneviève Gagné, president of the New Brunswick Young Liberal Association, called for “access to a full-range of publicly funded family planning information and services.”

“I think every woman should have access to abortions or any information she needs to provide adequate family planning information to her,” the 20-year old Gagné said.

Gagné’s amendment came right after another delegate could not find a second person to support an amendment she had proposed to restrict abortion to medically necessary cases and to promote a culture of life.

Fredericton delegate Nancy MacAfee said she was surprised no one else in the room was willing to support her motion for right to life.

“I was flabbergasted. I know the mentality of people has changed a lot. … I felt like a voice in the wilderness,” she said.

Voice in the wilderness. Ayup.