Province had covered the costs of the operations done off the island
The Catholic Register (CCN)
Pro-lifers are heartbroken that the last standout province has succumbed to pressure from the abortion lobby. The premier of Prince Edward Island announced that abortions will soon be legal on the island.
"It is a heartbreaking situation," said Mary Ellen Douglas, Campaign Life Coalition's national co-ordinator. "I am very sad about it and a little surprised. I'm really disappointed that P.E.I. didn't hold the line. It is just another nail in the coffin."
Premier Wade MacLauchlan, also the island province's justice minister, cited a women's right to equality in health care as a key reason for the change. He was joined by Rob Henderson, the health minister; and Paula Biggar, the minister for the status of women.
P.E.I. was the only province that didn't provide surgical abortions as health care, although it had covered the costs of off-island abortions at specific hospitals since 1995, minus the cost of travel. Its entire population is under 150,000, slightly larger than Coquitlam's.
The province's change of heart came as a response to a legal challenge under the Charter of Rights and Freedoms filed in January by Abortion Access Now P.E.I. The government had 90 days to respond.
Douglas rejected the notion that increased access to abortion promotes equality. "What kind of equality is he talking about except to say that they have a right over another human being?" she asked.
"Shame on them for bringing abortion to the province," said Campaign Life president Jim Hughes.
Alissa Golob of the recently formed pro-life political and lobby group Right Now said the decision "should motivate us to ensure pro-lifers are nominated and elected so that abortion advocates are no longer able to make legal changes."
It is expected that the province could be offering abortions on the island by the end of the year.