Abortion access on P.E.I.: What the province's current policy actually says

For years, government officials on P.E.I. have made references to the province's abortion policy, but that policy has never been made public — until now.

Previous requests for a copy of the policy by CBC News, including a request in 2014, did not receive a response.

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But through a Freedom of Information request, CBC News has now received a copy of the current Health PEI abortion policy, along with a previous version of the policy first implemented by the Department of Health and Social Services in 1995.

Although changes to abortion services on P.E.I. were announced on Thursday, Health Minister Robert Henderson said the "existing regulatory barriers to on-Island abortion" would be removed once abortion services are accessible on the Island, expected by the end of 2016.

The current policy states, "Since 1982, abortion services have not been available in Prince Edward Island. P.E.I. residents are referred out-of-province for abortion services."

The previous policy from the Department of Health put it this way: "Island residents must be referred out of province as abortions are not performed in the referral hospitals of Prince Edward Island."

P.E.I.'s abortion policy also stipulates that provincial coverage for therapeutic abortions "is reserved for those cases that meet the requirement of medical necessity, as determined by the attending physician.

"The province of P.E.I. considers the clinical particulars of therapeutic abortions to be best addressed between a patient and their physician, and accepts the physician's recommendation when based on medical need."

A spokesperson for Health PEI has clarified that while the existing policy still applies with regards to abortions performed at the Queen Elizabeth II Hospital in Halifax, it no longer applies to abortions performed at the Moncton Hospital, for which Island women do not require a doctor's referral.

The abortion policy also stipulates that the province will only pay for abortions performed in an accredited hospital. P.E.I. and New Brunswick are the only provinces that do not pay for abortions performed in private clinics.

'Contrary to equality rights'

On Thursday, P.E.I. Premier Wade MacLauchlan announced the government has asked Health PEI to develop a business plan for a women's reproductive health centre to provide surgical and medical abortions, among other services.

At a news conference, he said the province concluded its abortion policy would not stand up to a threatened legal challenge under the Canadian Charter of Rights and Freedoms.

In January, abortion rights activists gave the government notice they would be filing a lawsuit to force the province to provide full and unrestricted access to publicly funded abortion services on the Island.

"We are advised that the current policy would likely be found to be contrary to equality rights guaranteed by the Canadian Charter of Rights and Freedoms, as well as charter guarantees of security of the person," MacLauchlan said Thursday.

"Our government is mindful of its obligations to act in compliance with the Canadian Charter of Rights and Freedoms."

Government hopes to have that centre in place by the end of 2016.

'Opportunity to change policy' cited in 2011

CBC News obtained emails from government officials through a Freedom of Information request suggesting the opportunity to change policy was discussed as far back as 2011.

After simmering for years, the abortion issue on P.E.I. came back into the fore with both pro-choice and anti-abortion demonstrations held in late 2011.

At the time, CBC News was told by Health PEI's medical director Dr. Richard Wedge that there was no legal or legislative impediment he was aware of to prevent doctors from performing abortions on the Island.

But In the follow-up to the demonstrations and the ensuing media coverage, then-Health PEI CEO Keith Dewar sent this email to Michael Mayne, who was deputy minister of Health and Wellness at the time.

"I was talking to Richard this afternoon on the 'policy' comment on abortions. I have attached a policy that was approved in 1995 and last amended in 2001 from the department that states that abortions will only be provided off-Island," the email reads.

"This poses a lot of questions in terms of opportunity to change policy and whose policy it is etc. I have not run this by own our (sic) legal council (sic) as I have just read this. I will probably follow up tomorrow with them. Regardless there is a policy on the books which states how we are to provide this service. The actual process is the same for any other OOP [out of province] referral but it is covered under a separate policy ...

"Give it some thought and we should chat about the potential actions we might take."

In 2013, Health PEI convened a working group to consider a proposal for a local abortion clinic, which was expected to save the province money compared to what it was paying for women to have abortions at the Queen Elizabeth II in Halifax.

But in early 2014, the group was told to stop working on the proposal because it was against government policy.