Gynecologists at two hospitals have offered to perform publicly funded abortions, staving off concerns the service might soon be unavailable in the province, New Brunswick Health Minister Brad Green told CBC News on Thursday.

The hospitals are stepping in to fill a void that would result from the suspension of taxpayer funded abortions at the Dr. Everett Chalmers Regional Hospital on July 1.

New Brunswick Health Minister Brad Green said the department has found at least two doctors willing to provide the service.
(PR Direct/CP)

Green said that he's found at least one doctor at each of two provincial hospitals willing to provide the service under medicare.

"There have been some positive developments just in the past 24 hours," he told CBC News in Fredericton. "We have physicians now in two hospitals who have indicated that they are willing to begin providing these procedures, so our focus now is on continuing to meet with those doctors, with their respective regional health authorities to ensure that there is as seamless a transition as possible at the end of June."

Last week, the Chalmers hospital announced its plan to stop performing abortions because its obstetrics department is overworked and understaffed. The hospital performed nearly all the publicly funded abortions in New Brunswick.

The decision would have meant that women wanting to terminate their pregnancy in New Brunswick would have to pay up to $750 for the service at the Morgentaler Clinic in downtown Fredericton.

The New Brunswick government doesn't pay for abortions unless they are deemed "medically necessary" by two physicians and performed by a gynecologist in a hospital.

Last year, the Chalmers hospital performed 400 of the 404 medicare abortions in New Brunswick, while the Morgentaler Clinic performed approximately 600, none of which were covered by medicare.

In 2004, Henry Morgentaler launched a lawsuit against the New Brunswick government, claiming that its legislation denies women equal access to abortions under the Canada Health Act. That suit is still in the courts.

Green won't say which doctors or which hospitals have offered their services, only that they are obstetrician-gynecologists. "That's for reasons of patient safety and the safety of the professionals involved," he said.

He promised to continue to work with the hospitals involved, and let doctors know where they can send their patients when the Chalmers stops performing abortions.

"Our priority was to make certain that access to medically necessary termination of pregnancy procedures remained constant and we've been able to achieve that."

Meanwhile, former Morgantaler Clinic director Judy Burwell is pleased the province has found doctors willing to perform hospital abortions, but says the medicare rules are still unfair to women and the issue needs to be resolved.

"It's excellent if they've found two doctors to do this," she said. "It's definitely a step. But it would be good if people knew where they were and at what hospital. But now, it doesn't end this debate."