Abortions in clinics are safe, confidential, and provide patients with access to additional resources such as IUDs, birth control, counselling, etc. All of this infrastructure is already available at Clinic 554. There is no good reason to close the clinic & 1/

move abortion services to the DECH, which already has an overloaded OR and many staff who simply won't participate in the procedure, making it inappropriate for patients. Clinic 554 has a dedicated team already set up to provide care in the safest possible context. 2/

Why would we interrupt services in the most appropriate possible setting to start delivering them in one that is more expensive and creates barriers related to trauma & confidentiality? There is no good reason - the only reason to do this is to police access to the procedure. 3/

We don't actually know what the "need" for abortion is in NB right now because so many people across the province are unable to access the service in a confidential & affordable way, meaning many don't have the opportunity to access it at all. 4/

For many people in abusive situations or living under economic constraints that are very common in this province, travelling to another city multiple times to access a very personal health service is just not possible, or not possible without sacrificing safety & dignity 5/

It's truly insulting for the Higgs government to ignore these factors when discussing access and demanding constituents take them to court (with $ we don't have). We need better access to almost all health services in NB, but ESPECIALLY this one to protect the most vulnerable. 6/

And if you don't agree with abortion, Clinic 554 is STILL THERE FOR YOU! The Clinic supports the full range of reproductive health options, from preventative BC, to abortion, to supporting parents through pregnancy. Shutting it down is nothing but pigheaded. /7