U of M med students push province to provide abortion pill
Advertisement
Read this article for free:
or
Already have an account? Log in here »
To continue reading, please subscribe:
Monthly Digital Subscription
$0 for the first 4 weeks*
- Enjoy unlimited reading on winnipegfreepress.com
- Read the E-Edition, our digital replica newspaper
- Access News Break, our award-winning app
- Play interactive puzzles
*No charge for 4 weeks then price increases to the regular rate of $19.00 plus GST every four weeks. Offer available to new and qualified returning subscribers only. Cancel any time.
Monthly Digital Subscription
$4.75/week*
- Enjoy unlimited reading on winnipegfreepress.com
- Read the E-Edition, our digital replica newspaper
- Access News Break, our award-winning app
- Play interactive puzzles
*Billed as $19 plus GST every four weeks. Cancel any time.
To continue reading, please subscribe:
Add Free Press access to your Brandon Sun subscription for only an additional
$1 for the first 4 weeks*
*Your next subscription payment will increase by $1.00 and you will be charged $16.99 plus GST for four weeks. After four weeks, your payment will increase to $23.99 plus GST every four weeks.
Read unlimited articles for free today:
or
Already have an account? Log in here »
Hey there, time traveller!
This article was published 06/03/2019 (2474 days ago), so information in it may no longer be current.
Medical students at the University of Manitoba are pushing for the Pallister government to provide universal access to two-pill abortion drug Mifegymiso.
The group of doctors-in-training, who call themselves Medical Students for Choice, have been campaigning since November. They’ve drummed up about 1,000 letters of support for better access to the abortion pill and say Manitoba and Saskatchewan are the only provinces lagging behind in coverage.
“If there was universal coverage for Mifegymiso, (women) who would normally have to fly down to receive a surgical abortion will now get a medical abortion in the comfort and support network of their own communities,” said U of M student Lucy Karp.
“But for some reason, that’s not what’s happening. And it’s not what’s happening because that’s what this provincial government has failed to do.”
On Friday — International Women’s Day — the students will set up at Fools & Horses coffee shop (379 Broadway) to gather signed letters from 8 a.m. to 1 p.m, then move over to the University of Winnipeg downtown campus from 1 p.m. to 4 p.m.
Mifegymiso is only available for free in Winnipeg and Brandon at clinics that already offer surgical abortions. Otherwise, women need a prescription from a doctor.
In an interview Wednesday, Status of Women Minister Rochelle Squires said the pill is available across Manitoba, but noted there have been supply shortages due to issues with Mifegymiso’s manufacturer.
In their letter template, addressed to Squires and Health Minister Cameron Friesen, the students lay out cost analysis from the Canadian Agency for Drugs and Technologies in Health that found Mifegymiso cost $916 less than surgical abortions performed in hospital.
According to the Women’s Health Clinic in Winnipeg, the prescription costs about $350. During the current fiscal year (April 2018 to present), the clinic provided 564 medical abortions (with Mifegymiso) and 1,501 surgical abortions.
jessica.botelho@freepress.mb.ca
Twitter: @_jessbu