Minister Biron launches a plan to improve access to abortion throughout Quebec

Photo: Jacques Boissinot Archives La Presse canadienne The Minister responsible for the Status of Women, Martine Biron, believes that greater access to abortion will require better knowledge of the abortion pill.

Florence Morin-Martel

Posted at 10:56 AM Updated at 2:56 PM

• Québec

In order to protect women’s right to abortion, the Minister responsible for the Status of Women, Martine Biron, is launching a plan this Monday to improve access to this service throughout Quebec. However, making contraception free for all is not part of this strategy.

At a press conference in Montreal, Ms. Biron revealed that her plan will run until 2027. It contains some thirty measures that aim, among other things, to counter the misinformation circulating about abortion, as well as to open new service points, including one in the Capitale-Nationale. “We realized that there were gaps and that women could sometimes wait up to five weeks to receive services.”

Currently, there are two methods of terminating a pregnancy in the province: medication or surgery. Martine Biron believes that greater access to abortion will come through better knowledge of the existence of the abortion pill. “We note, according to the statistics, that it is little known and definitely underused in Quebec,” she emphasized.

The minister pointed out that only 17% of pregnancy terminations performed in Quebec were medical, unlike 72% of those performed in France and 32% of those in Ontario.

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In total, the plan includes investments of $7.5 million. It is the result of consultations conducted by the CAQ representative with women’s groups, professional orders and experts on the subject of pregnancy termination.

Several of the people met by Ms. Biron maintained that anti-abortion groups were active in Quebec, she said. “They often use misleading names and do not offer neutral support, hence the need for an action plan to improve access to abortion and combat misinformation.”

In order to allow Quebec women to have “neutral and truthful” information, the minister announced that she will increase funding for four pro-choice organizations that are government partners. These are SOS Grossesse Québec, SOS Grossesse Estrie, Grossesse-secours and the Fédération du Québec pour le planning des naissances (FQPN).

The FQPN also considered that Martine Biron’s plan had “the potential to address several important issues and to take essential action to improve access to abortion in Quebec.”

No free contraception for all for now

As for the idea of ​​making contraceptives free for all in Quebec, the minister stated that discussions were still taking place with Ottawa on this subject.

“We have seen in the past that these types of negotiations can be lengthy,” she explained. “So I was faced with the dilemma of whether to move forward with the abortion access plan or wait for the contraception issue to be resolved. I think it was important, at this time, to present a plan for access to pregnancy termination.”

Thanks to certain programs, contraception is already free in the province for all women aged 18 and under and those aged 25 and under who are students, the elected official recalled. “Work will continue on the contraception issue,” she added.

Martine Biron also specified that her strategy aims to make information about contraceptive methods more accessible. “Statistics show that one in two abortions in Quebec is linked to contraception that didn't work. So it's important to educate women well.”

The minister added that a telehealth service will also be deployed by 2027, in particular to allow the abortion pill to be prescribed more widely. “In addition to doctors, specialized nurse practitioners (SNPs) and now midwives can prescribe. Then, we are now discussing with pharmacists on this subject, and I would say that they are interested [in having this new power].”