NDP calling for expansion of reproductive rights
By Lethbridge Herald on November 14, 2024.
Sarah Hoffman, NDP Shadow Minister of Health, along side Julia Hayter, Shadow Minister for Status of Women, and Dr. Jillian Demontigny talks to reporters on Thursday at the YMCA Lethbridge.
Herald photo by Alejandra Pulido-GuzmanAlejandra Pulido-Guzman – LETHBRIDGE HERALD – apulido@lethbridgeherald.com
The Alberta NDP is calling on the provincial government to expand reproductive health services in regional hospitals including access to surgical abortions.
Sarah Hoffman, Alberta NDP Shadow Minister of Health, was in Lethbridge Thursday and spoke to media about a motion she had put forward on the order paper for the Alberta Legislature and the provincial government.
“To expand the full range of women’s health services to all regional hospitals. You shouldn’t have to leave the region that you live in to be able to access basic Women’s Health services,” said Hoffman.
She explained that those living outside of Calgary or Edmonton often have to travel great distances to access certain healthcare services. She said Albertans should not have to travel further than they would if they had any other major health episode.
“This is really about making sure that half the people of this province don’t have to hit the highway and travel to Edmonton and Calgary for legal, fully inclusive women’s reproductive health services,” said Hoffman.
She said the Alberta NDP is aware of the medical shortage and they want to make sure that the obstetricians who do come to Lethbridge can offer the full range of their scope and want to stay long term.
“We should make sure that everyone in our regions of the province can access the services they need close to home,” said Hoffman.
Hoffman was joined by Dr. Jillian Demontigny, a family physician who offers medical abortions in her practice to women and gender diverse patients in Lethbridge.
“We know from the number of referrals that we receive every month that while medical abortion is more accessible now than it had been years ago, it still remains difficult to access and with not enough supply to meet the necessary demand,” said Demontigny.
She added that they have also seen an increase in patients who would prefer or would be better served with a surgical termination, who instead choose to have a medical abortion here with her because the distance to travel and the time required to get to Calgary is an insurmountable barrier.
“For that reason, I was excited when the shadow Minister of Health asked if I would come to today’s announcement, because I very much think that anywhere that is able to offer prenatal care and other reproductive healthcare services, we have an obligation and responsibility to also be able to provide both medical and surgical abortions,” said Demontigny.
She explained that the lack of access to having a surgical abortion doesn’t in fact make people choose not to have an abortion.
“It instead forces them to opt for the more accessible option, which in some cases is a riskier option so I’m glad if we can bring it closer to home,” said Demontigny.
She explained that there is no access to surgical abortions here in Lethbridge and if people choose that option or it is what is best for them, they would have to travel to Calgary where there are two places where a surgical abortion can be performed.
“There is two surgical facilities in Calgary. One which is a private free-standing clinic and the other one is within a hospital,” said Demontigny.
When talking about the fact that many may not agree with abortions and therefore disagree with providing that as a healthcare option, Hoffman said the government, regardless of who is in power, should not be telling Albertans what services to access.
“The government’s job isn’t to judge people who are accessing health care services. It isn’t to insert themselves between patients and their doctors as we’ve seen with some of the legislation they’ve brought forward this session between parents and children and their doctors,” said Hoffman.
She said the government should not be telling doctors what they can or cannot prescribe or telling patients that they should figure out a way to wait a few more years or travel a little further to be able to get things that they are legally entitled to.
“I believe that our job as shadow ministers and government in waiting is to tell the government good ideas. And one of the good ideas we have is to make sure that everyone gets the right care in the right place by the right provider,” said Hoffman.
Hoffman was also joined by Julia Hayter, Alberta NDP Shadow Minister for Status of Women, who brought forward a motion in the legislature urging the UCP government to provide Albertans with universal access to free prescription contraceptives and was shut down.
“The UCP unanimously voted my motion down. Providing Albertans with free access to prescription contraception gives them control over their lives and their futures,” said Hayter.
She added that it empowers people to be able to make the best decisions for their health instead of basing those decisions on what is in their bank accounts.
“We shouldn’t have our bank accounts dictate what we have access to. Prescription contraception protects the health and the well-being of many Albertans, yet so many Albertans must treat this essential health care as a luxury item,” said Hayter.
She said contraception is a good health policy, a good economic policy and the right thing to do.
“Last year, B.C. became the very first jurisdiction in Canada to introduce universal free prescription contraception and on Oct. 1, Manitoba launched the same program. Albertans also deserve access to this vital healthcare,” said Hayter.
27-26
Thank you Mrs. HOFFMAN and the NDP for putting the final nails in the coffin of your candidate, Rob Miyashiro.
You lable it as “reproductive rights” why not call it for what it really is, simply, ABORTION!
Doesn’t the NDP know the geography and demographics of Southern Alberta? To remind them (and all) we are the “Bible Belt” of our province. The Lethbridge West constituency metron is the site of the broken ground (October 14th, 2024) on the construction of the Mormon Temple, there are as well, two large (and full capacity) Mormon Churches, a Catholic High School, two Catholic Elementary Schools, at least nine Christian Churches, the University of Lethbridge, “Inter-Varcity Christian Fellowship” various Christian home bible study groups…..NDP (Rob Miyashiro) promotion of ABORTION in our community, no thank you!
Remember this and other agenda items (Supervised Consumption Site) of the NDP (Rob Miyashiro) when you consider casting your vote in the Lethbridge West Byelection.
HaroldP, are you not forgetting the 1988 ruling of the Supreme Court of Canada on this matter?
Moreover, how do you arrive at the misguided notion that West Lethbridge “belongs” to you or any of those groups you mention?
IMO – Your remark of the 1988 ruling of the “Supreme Court of Canada” is sustained, however, there is another “Law” and it is found in the Holy Scriptures as one of the 10 Commandments, Exodus 20 vs 13 “THOU SHALL NOT KILL”.
HaroldP, are you saying that your Jesus did not replace the Laws of the Pharisees with the Great Commandment? My reading of Matthew 22:36-40 differs greatly from your assertion that there is “another ‘Law'”. Moreover, by stating there is this other “Law”, are you also asserting that Canada is a theocracy?
Your mis-guided comments are beyond attempt to respond. Either you simply do not believe/understand the Holy Scriptures or you are attempting to conscrew the Revelation of the Lord Jesus. The Word of God will not be altered and both the New and Old Testaments are to be revered. We (Christians) believe that our God is Trinity (God the Father, God the Son and God the Holy Spirit) Therefore the “Law of first mention” is respective and relevant.
Your comment that “Canada is a theocracy” is absurd!
HaroldP, are you saying that you are blaming me for your inability to respond to my “misguided” questions? For the record, I did not state that Canada is a theocracy. This was my question to you. I can only conclude that obfuscation appears to be your strong point.
and yet has not your bible been rewritten so many times over? which bible reads as your favourite?
biff, yes the Holy Scriptures have been rewritten by scholars and the likes of “Wycliff Bible Translators”.
The text and content are retained. (You may be interested to know that when the “Dead Sea Scrolls” were discovered and later compared to modern translations of the Holy Scriptures content it was consistent with the Dead Sea Scrolls.)
biff, your next point?
good to hear – so, in the scrolls or in the version of the bible you prefer, where does it tell us what race adam and eve were, where does it share how all the races came to be, and with whom did cain and abel reproduce?
bonus pts for this: how big was th ark, and how did noah and crew manage to scoop kangaroos, polar bears, every insect, every bird, lions and tigers and bears, oh my…and how did they manage to not get killed by predatory animals? bet the scrolls tell us, right? please reference.
are you favouring israel and its war crimes? i mean, thou shalt not kill is without exceptions.
You are certainly mis or uninformed! Perhaps you should review what transpired in Israel on October 23, 2023. Have you even heard if “Hamas”?
that was not done nor sanctioned by all the palestinian children and noncombatants. hamas is not sanctioned to speak for or represent palestinians. oct 23 was also not done by lebanon nor with lebanon’s popular approval.
and ahead of that, israel has been smothering palestinian presence since palestinian land was stolen to create israel. since then, israel has been ongoing stealing land while further practicing apartheid and subjugation and cultural/social/economic genocide. are you at all knowledgeable about what is genocide? war crimes? crimes against humanity?
are you so simple as to believe that netanyahoo is actually looking to free hostages?! lol this all about using those hostages so as to pretend to have a right to disperse and annihilate what was left of the palestinian presence, to further encroach on the land of lebanon, while killing civilians and resettling more land with israeli settlers stolen via combat. it is disgusting. and you support that? you do not know jesus, for if you did,, you would know love.
as for thou shalt not kill….seeing as you brought that up, it is unequivocal: there is no fine print in that commandment that says it is ok to kill if and when…
biff, it is very obvious that your point is, that you have no point!
I encourage you to firstly admit what/who initiated the current conflict in Israel on October 23rd 2023.
Secondly, study the Holy Scriptures regarding “end times” Prophecy. You will, hopefully, learn a pleathory of history and end times events (as we are living in today) and that Jesus will return to Jerusalem.
Finally, no “fine print” required, in the begining was the Word, the Word was with God and the Word was God. (John 1 vs 1)
yes – thous shalt not kill. period. get it. so, how do you follow the commandments and support israel’s war crimes?
why must you behave so foolishly and always avoid points that you have no intelligent response for, and instead make a remark that underscores your foolishness. many points in my entry, but you have no answer, except that you support israeli war crimes while also thinking you follow the bible…except thou shalt not kill.
I give you biblical reference, and you claim it being “a foolish response”. Like I previously stated, you obviously won’t regard me or my answers, please crack open the Holy Bible, you will find your answers, including the exact size of the Ark which Noah built. (Genesis 6 vs 14-16)
how is that information enough to convince you of how all life survived a long lasting flood? the boat is hardly large enough, but let us say it was.
help me to make sense of the following: did noah build the ark and then go forth to all corners of the world, collecting penguins, moles, rats, falcons, sloths, snakes, spiders, polar bears, elephants, badgers, eagles, butterflies, why mosquitoes?, why cockroaches?, sparrows, unicorns (perhaps those were overlooked)…i mean, how might one get all of these in nets, cages, ant farms, and then transfer them aboard? that would make for amazing reading.
also, did noah go get them before building the ark…well ahead of columbus he set sail for the new world. jolly ho! did he fly, go on foot, horseback, did the ark have wheels?
if he waited until there was enough rain for the ark to float he would have saved a very few of our species…maybe spot the dog, and felix the cat.
did they have refrigeration on board so as the penguins had some ice for their drinks? where in those incredible instructions was the place for all the food…if two of all the creatures of earth did not sink the boat you gotta figure the food for them all will have.
it just seems the ark story is kind of believing that santa claus can deliver a bunch of toys around the christmas world in 24 hours. or, is that for real?
anyway, at least you referenced the floor plan for the ark in the bible, but it seems you are hardly thinking, which makes it difficult to find truth with you.
btw – still waiting for bible references to the other questions. i have been asking several times now, but perhaps you have been putting lots of scholarly time into being able to provide the skeptics among us with every reference the bible has to explain how we have so many races from just 2 people, to share what their race was, and evebn with whom did cain and abel make more babies. surely one of those bible versions can account for that?
biff, you fail to regard my suggestion to you regarding “cracking open the Holy Bible” to discover for yourself, the answers to the questions you pose.
Yes, there are many miracles and facinating events depicted and explained in the Holy Scriptures, (Noah and the flood; parting of the sea; raising of Lazarus of Bethany from being dead; Jonah and the whale; feeding of the multitudes with the fish and loaves; giving sight to blind man; the immaculent conception of Mary; seniors giving birth; turning water into wine; Jesus being ressurected on the third day ……)
Yea of little faith may also visit the Holy Land for first hand, eye witness, self exploration of places and a geographic education.
If you want, you can always ask for explanation(s) from the Lord Jesus on that day.
you prove entirely unable to respond to any of my queries with any specific reference to your bible. tossing in something that tells us of the size of the ark hardly cuts it. no answer as to what race are adam and eve, nor with whom did their 2 boys sire more kids. no answer as to how we have so many races. and, there are so many more stories that hold so little weight.
it is beyond any faith to buy into stories that are without any basis beyond that one decides to believe what one has told one is true. i suppose this is the basis of why there are always enough people who rally behind the liars that provide us woeful leadership…not just once, but over and over.
rather than question, scrutinise, think, dig, uncover, still too many are content to just have faith no matter how bogus is that one buys into merely out of faith.
War crimes? No other military in the world has ever warned people of impending attack, using multiple forms of media to move to a safe area. You are a sucker for the terrorist propaganda machine. Even the UN has admitted the death totals reported by the Gaza Heath Authority are inflated. Mititary strategists around the world have remarked of the very low numbers of civilian casualties from urban combat. It is a war crime for terrorists to use schools, mosques, hospitals, playgrounds as bases of operations. They hide behind womens skirt’s and children as they attack.
Are you aware that Hamas keeps their family members by their side and the wives and children often help them, with the women and children bring them ammunitions and supporting them in other ways? Children have been taught in UNRWA schools to hate jews and annihilate them and the dying as a martyr is ALLAH’s command, even being taught to wear suicide vests. This has been going on for over 20 years!
war crimes, crimes against humanity, genocide. um, warning that one is going to shoot and bomb is hardly an excuse to do so. surely you know that.
israel has stolen land via war – that is illegal. they have continued to steal land over many decades, also illegal. they have practiced apartheid – something the good folk of the world have come to understand as being unacceptable and criminal. they have disenfranchised the prior holders of the land. now called israel, such that palestinians have no voice, far fewer rights and options to determine much of anything and to thrive as may jews,, and instead live, by and large, impoverished. israel has long forced palestinians to scatter, and has been committing genocide against them for many decades now.
netanyahoo has not been looking to free the hostages, but instead has been using the hostages in an illegal attempt to bring an end to palestinians, and to further encroach into countries israel has no legal right to attack. along the way civilians are being killed and wounded/maimed.
to suggest that the dead and wounded/maimed are being over reported hardly means there are not war crimes and crimes against humanity being committed.
but why not allow the palestinians to state a number, just as jewish people have been allowed to determine their number.
it is particularly sickening that despite events like ww1 and 2, where fighting for freedom was the operative word, and events like colonial powers stealing land from palestinians to create an israel…israel demonstrates it is hellbent on the likes of war crimes, crimes against humanity and genocide. i have asked this in another entry: did we learn nothing from two world wars? how is it there are still people that support ghastly hater actions just because one feels one type is better than another?
i have also asked this: if one were palestinian, what would one do? if your response is nothing, or move (yet again, and to where, and goodbye to one’s culture among other concerns), or accept poverty and disenfranchisement and genocide, one is not being fair and honest.
and now, if one is lebanese what does one do? one’s country is under attack. is that acceptable? had lebanon declared war? nope.
here is something else to consider: if a group of canadians – let’s call them the “freedom fighters of jesus convoy”, just for the sake of a name; and, let us say they say they act in the name of all canadians – committed an act of terrorism in the usa, leaving with hostages, would one see it as acceptable that the usa military bombs, shoots, kills and maims civilians in canada in response? oh, even if they warn one first, of course, right? and, imagine of they kept on doing that for over a year, and also attacked mexican border towns and the mexican capital city suberbs….
you surely are a god among mere mortals, hp. all hail harold, and all who have the “right” to enforce their preferences upon the body of another.
btw – still waiting for a reply to my query; if adam and eve were the first humans, what race were they, and how did we come to have so many races? if it is in the bible, would you or ilk be so kind and knowledgeable as to reference where a seeker might this?
also, you were asked if adam and eve had only two sons, how did they procreate?
good questions, maybe tough ones, but does not the bible explain?
nice! all the negs and not one intelligent responder. are you truly so dumb, or might any of you controlling bible thumpers unable to reason?
And the NDP policies have worked so well in other provinces such as BC, right? The NDP is spending a lot of time in Lethbridge, lately pushing their failed ideas. Where were you when you had the MLA West office in Lethbridge that was closed to the public for 3 years? Where were you?
You sent many of the concerns your constituents had over the the MLA East office, causing them to work overtime, all the time to do your job!
You destroyed my business and the downtown with your policies while ignoring our pleas to not open the SCS, then to shut it down! Our city would look like Vancouver Downtown Eastside if the UCP hadn’t shut it down and LISTENED to the pleas hundreds of concerned residents, and ACTED with policies that are making a difference. We already saw the display of Miyashiro’s deportment and his full support of the SCS and other policies that negatively impacted our city and takes $15 million of our municipal property taxes every year to deal with the impacts.
No to NDP! We are still recovering from all the previous bad policies! Do you want to end up like BC?
your business and the many others have been destroyed under the watch of the ucp. are you not able to acknowledge that the ucp has been in power now, with a majority of the seats, no less, for about 18 months. nothing to block them…except themselves. they have done nothing to help with the massive social problem that has plagued cities here. and you and others continue to blame the ndp. what is it the ndp is doing that thwarts the ucp? they have no power. why are you and other con-named govt supporters not demanding that the ucp step and solve problems, rather than simply line the pockets of their corporate and insider buddies?
So, so out of touch! The UCP has in fact made headway on the reduction of fatal overdoses and numbers of addicts, which mean less families burying their sons and daughters and less families destroyed. The stats prove it! BC is the best example of why NOT to vote NDP, who burns up billions of tax dollars every year to enable addicts instead of treating them. Those policies slowly kill addicts in a slow inhumane and painful death!
the ucp has left communities like ours to fend for themselves. that is why the problem has grown so much, particularly over the last 18 months. surely, if it was getting better, one would not be venting about our growing problem downtown with regularity?