Are Alberta abortion services accessible enough?

With Roe v. Wade being overturned in the United States, some are celebrating the medical freedoms we have in Canada, but accessing abortions in Alberta may not be as easy as some would like.

There are only three clinics which provide the medical procedure in the province: one is in Edmonton, and two are in Calgary.

So, if you don’t live in those cities or near them, it can be a long commute.

“Often, our rural patients have a difficult time accessing abortion through their GPs, their GPs sometimes are conscientious objectors — which is absolutely fine according to the law — but then they are supposed to refer patients on but many of them do not do that and patients are unaware of their rights,” Autumn Reinhardt-Simpson, the founder of Alberta Abortion Access Network, told CityNews.

She explains more and more people are choosing medication abortions using pills rather than surgical abortions at clinics, but that comes with its own set of challenges.

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“If you get it through the clinic, they are making you come in to take the pills, there is no medical reason that needs to be done but then you have to take time off to go to the clinic and take a pill in front of someone,” she said.

“If you get it prescribed, you need to first find someone who will even prescribe it for you which is extremely difficult, and then we have a lot of trouble with pharmacists not understanding they can dispense this medication.”

She recalls a story in which a client of hers had to visit 10 different Edmonton-area pharmacies to finally find someone who was willing to dispense the medication, despite her having a prescription for it.

Reinhardt-Simpson’s group helps women receive abortion services and the support they need because she says a lot of these people do not have a partner, friend, or family member who can help them through the process.

“Access itself is a problem, but the shame that goes along with that lack of access is pretty bad,” she added.