Minister says Manitoba to provide universal access to abortion pill Mifegymiso

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WINNIPEG – The Manitoba government is going to provide universal access to the abortion pill Mifegymiso.

Rochelle Squires, the minister responsible for the status of women, says covering the cost of the drug and making it easier to access will benefit women who want to stay in their home communities.

Currently, Mifegymiso is only available for free in Winnipeg and Brandon at clinics that already offer surgical abortions. Otherwise, women have had to pay upwards of $300 for the two-pill treatment unless they are covered by private insurance or low-income pharmacare.

Advocates have been pressuring the Progressive Conservative government for two years to make the drug more widely available, saying Manitoba and Saskatchewan lag behind other provinces.

The announcement comes as a provincial election looms in Manitoba.

The next vote is scheduled for Oct. 6, 2020, but Premier Brian Pallister has repeatedly said he plans to call the vote sometime this year.

(The Canadian Press)

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