“No Woman Should Have to Pay for an Abortion” Says New Pro-Choice Coalition

Pro-choice groups across the country have formed a new coalition: the Abortion Rights Coalition of Canada / Coalition pour le Droit à l’Avortement au Canada (ARCC-CDAC)*.

ARCC-CDAC will work to improve access to abortion and ensure that abortion rights remain protected. Abortion is not a settled issue—it’s still politicized. Many women have trouble accessing it, and many women are paying out-of-pocket in violation of the Canada Health Act. No woman should have to pay for an abortion, which is a “medically required” service under the Act.

Also, there’s not enough abortion doctors, and too many anti-abortion politicians. With a federal election around the corner, ARCC-CDAC wants to make sure that the Conservative Party will never try to impose an anti-choice ideology on all Canadian women. The coalition will also work to increase the number of providers and expand curricula on abortion at medical schools.

Scheduled Speakers:

• Libby Davies, NDP-MP for Vancouver East
• Dr. Vyta Senikas, Associate Executive Vice-President, Society of Obstetricians and Gynecologists of Canada, Ottawa
• Joyce Arthur, Pro-Choice Action Network, Vancouver
• Carolyn Egan, Ontario Coalition for Abortion Clinics, Toronto
• Anna Rozenberg, Medical Students for Choice, McMaster University, Hamilton
• Joan Wright, Ottawa Morgentaler Clinic

ARCC-CDAC Contacts:

Joyce Arthur	Pro-Choice Action Network, Vancouver	writer@direct.ca	604-351-0867
Dr. Suzanne Newman	Medical Director, Jane’s Clinic, Winnipeg	snewman@cc.umanitoba.ca	204-477-1887
Carolyn Egan	Ontario Coalition for Abortion Clinics, Toronto	c.egan@sympatico.ca	416-969-8463
Dustin Costescu	Medical Students for Choice, London	dcostesc@gmail.com	519-281-1875
Catherine Megill (speaks French)	ARCC-CDAC, Montreal	trustwomen@yahoo.com	514-486-9669
Judy Burwell	former director of the Morgentaler Clinic, Fredericton	cheznous1@rogers.com	506-460-8105 or 506-451-9060

* ARCC-CDAC will operate in both official languages. Our French-language press conference will be in Montreal on Oct. 20, 11am, Centre St-Pierre, 1212, rue Panet, Room 202. Please contact Catherine Megill for more information: 514-486-9669.