In a win for women, the provincial government has been ordered to reimburse 45,000 Quebec women more than $13 million in abortion costs. Wow.
Ruling on a class-action lawsuit, Quebec Superior Court Justice Nicole Benard said the women should not have been charged extra for the procedures, as abortions are covered under the Quebec Health Insurance Act.The award could apply to about 45,000 women who paid $200 to $300 in supplementary fees to have abortions elsewhere than in a hospital or a CLSC community health clinic.
"It's good news for women's rights," said Anabelle Caron, of the non-profit Centre de sante des femmes de Montreal.
"Now, women can choose where to go for an abortion without having to pay if they choose a women's centre or private clinic."
Ah, Canada. The government has 30 days to appeal the judgment.
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Now if only the maritime provinces could catch up!
In Ontario abortion is already provided free of charge, and apparently clinics manage to work without being constantly harassed by anti-choice protesters.
Canada does have its nice quirks.
Wow, amazingly I didn't know that abortions aren't covered across the country. In manitoba women never have to pay as well.
Actually, Quebec already did cover most abortions. This ruling extends coverage to private clinics.
Sometimes I look north and think we would all have been a lot better off if we had just skipped the Revolution.
Well, slavery would have certainly ended about half a century earlier, so that would have been good. But the religious fundamentalism would've been just as bad - the thirteen colonies were more fundamentalist than Canada even before the Revolution.
I was going to point all the crappy parts of Canadian history, but then I realised there's generally an equivalent in American history. See: Treatment of Aboriginals, The.
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