Abortion rights lobby launches on P.E.I.

A group of Island women is banding together to advocate for more abortion information and services on P.E.I.

'Every person across Canada should have the same accessible health care.' Kandace Hagen

P.E.I. is the only province where legal abortions are not performed. Anyone looking to get an abortion has to travel to Fredericton or Halifax.

Kandace Hagen is with the newly-launched P.E.I. Reproductive Rights Organization. She is one of the many women who have travelled off Island to have an abortion.

Apart from having to travel, Hagen said her physician didn't give her enough information about the procedure, and that it cost her nearly $1,000 to have the procedure done at a private clinic in Halifax.

Hagen says she doesn't want any other Island woman to have to go through the same trouble.

"Every person across Canada should have the same accessible health care. That's all we're saying. That's not what the reality is right now," said Hagen.

"It's really quite an injustice. It's just something that I'm not willing to stand for and I really don't think I'm alone on that either."

Hagen said the group wants the province to provide more information for Island women who want an abortion, and for the provincial government to cover all the associated costs.

The P.E.I. Reproductive Rights Organization is holding its first rally on Nov. 19 in front of Province House.