Canada – Abortion expert urges Nova Scotia to drop ultrasound rule if access slowed

Abortion expert urges Nova Scotia to drop ultrasound rule if access slowed

Carly Weeks
Published September 26, 2018

The lead author of Canada’s national guidelines on drug-induced abortion says Nova Scotia should drop the practice of insisting on an ultrasound when it results in delays in providing the procedure.

The issue was raised this week after The Globe and Mail reported that Nova Scotia’s only abortion clinic is not allowed to perform ultrasounds to determine how far along a pregnancy is, leaving women to wait days or weeks for an appointment at the hospital’s diagnostic imaging unit. In an essay published Saturday, reporter Jessica Leeder outlined the challenges she faced earlier this year in obtaining a medical abortion. Ms. Leeder was told she would need to wait about two weeks for an ultrasound before a doctor could prescribe the abortion drug Mifegymiso. She eventually travelled out of province and paid out of pocket to have a timelier abortion.

Continued: https://www.theglobeandmail.com/canada/article-abortion-expert-urges-nova-scotia-to-drop-ultrasound-rule-if-access/


Canada – I wanted an abortion in Nova Scotia, but all around, barriers still remained

I wanted an abortion in Nova Scotia, but all around, barriers still remained
I was 36 and a married mother of two, and I needed to end a pregnancy – which is still a battle in some pockets of the country. Trying to get an abortion left me brimming with feelings of powerlessness, shame and disbelief

Jessica Leeder Atlantic region, Halifax
Sep 22, 2018

Jessica Leeder is The Globe and Mail’s Atlantic Bureau chief.

“You need to calm down. You are not dying. You are pregnant and you’re going be fine.”

This was the doctor’s receptionist over the phone from Dartmouth, N.S., with a voice so thick with gravel, I imagined her with a lit cigarette in hand as she attempted to take the bull by the horns.

Continued: https://www.theglobeandmail.com/opinion/article-i-wanted-an-abortion-in-nova-scotia-but-all-around-barriers-still/