Sunday 31 May 2009

Choice again

Wahoo! The abortion debate is hot in NB again and as usual I have something to say about it.

First, I apologize to a friend of mine for saying this since he has a personal connection but NB Health Minister Mike Murphy needs to resign. Sorry Mr. Murphy but your personal beliefs CANNOT interfere with your duty to ensure that everyone in NB has access to safe medical procedures and that those necessary procedures are paid for by Medicare. This includes a woman’s right to a safe abortion. It is not your place to allow anyone’s personal opinions to interfere with health care. I respect your right to hold opinions and I am not going to tell you that you are wrong but when your beliefs prevent you from upholding your duty as an elected official you need to step down and allow someone without that conflict of interests to do the job.

Aside from Mr. Murphy’s ridiculous statement the NB Appeals Courts has paved the way for Dr. Morgentaler to sue the NB government for payment of abortions provided in his clinic. The reason this is important is that the NB Gov’t has been claiming that only a woman who has had an abortion in the Fredericton clinic can sue for Medicare to cover the cost. No woman has stepped forward to sue so Dr. Morgantaler has taken it upon himself to do so in her absence.

As I was getting ready to finish this post I heard the news about Dr. George Tiller. I am deeply saddened at the loss of one of the few doctors in the US willing to practice late-term abortions. This just emphasizes the fact that though the fight for abortion rights is still a battle violence is never the answer.

No comments: