Dr. Henry Morgentaler won another legal battle against the New Brunswick government on Thursday when the Court of Appeal ruled he could sue the province over its refusal to fund abortions at his Fredericton clinic. (Canadian Press)

The New Brunswick government is reviewing the latest Court of Appeal ruling that cleared the way for Dr. Henry Morgentaler to sue the province over its refusal to fund abortions performed at his clinic in Fredericton.

The government has argued it only has to pay for abortions approved by two physicians and performed in hospitals.

Attorney General T.J. Burke told reporters on Friday that his staff will use the next 30 days to decide whether they will seek leave to appeal the decision to the Supreme Court of Canada.

"Our office will review the procedural decision made by the Court of Appeal to determine whether there's any palpable or overriding errors in law and determine whether or not we should appeal," Burke said.

Progressive Conservative MLA Margaret-Ann Blaney, the opposition's health critic, would not say whether the government should appeal even though she acknowledged Morgentaler keeps winning in courts across the country.

"I'm not a judge. I'm not a legal expert by any stretch of the imagination. So I don't know," Blaney said.

"I'm not sure what the hell the minister of justice feels on that either. I can't speak for the government. I can only speak for me."

Blaney said she believes the province's current policy allows sufficient access to abortion in hospitals.

Blaney was in the Conservative cabinet between 1999 and 2006 when Morgentaler began the legal process to change New Brunswick's abortion funding policy.

Morgentaler wants medicare to cover the $750 fee for abortions performed at his clinic, which currently are paid for by the patients themselves.

The province argued Morgentaler couldn't sue on the issue because it affects women, not him. In January, after a Court of Queen's Bench judge ruled in Morgentaler's favour, the province appealed the decision.

On Thursday, three appeal judges also ruled in Morgentaler's favour. The province had argued it would be better if the lawsuit was launched by a woman who had been forced to pay for a clinic abortion.

Chief Justice Ernest Drapeau said that argument doesn't pass muster. None of the many women who have had abortions at Morgentaler's Fredericton clinic in the past 15 years has come forward to file a lawsuit, he noted.

"That state of affairs is likely the product of two factors operating in tandem: the prohibitive cost of litigation and the intimate and private nature [of choosing to have an abortion]," wrote Drapeau.

"Dr. Morgentaler brings to the judicial arena financial resources and legal expertise which will undoubtedly help level the playing field and greatly improves the chances that any judicial decision on the merits is fully informed both factually and legally."

Morgentaler's long history of legal battles over abortion means his lawsuit is the only reasonable way to resolve the issue in court, he added.