Clinic 554 is a community-based family practice located at 554 Brunswick Street in Fredericton, New Brunswick. Its mission is based on “patient-driven care centred upon caring, inclusiveness and respect” by providing “the best health care possible in a safe, anti-oppressive environment” (Clinic 554, n.d.). Their service delivery model is prevention focused. The practice is led by general practitioner Dr. Adrian Edgar. Services extending from paediatric care to geriatric services along with reproductive and HIV care are provided. Clinic 554 provides support services to many marginalized persons in the community including Transgender and LGBT/Queer people. They offer counselling in contraception and provide access to safe abortions utilizing best practices in “feminist, trauma informed, harm reduction and anti-racist practices” (Clinic 554, n.d.).
Clinic 554 is at risk of permanently shutting down (as early as this month) due to significant financial losses. Although it ended most medical services on September 30th, the clinic is still providing some publicly funded services to those most vulnerable in the province. This family practice has also been at the centre of the abortion debate in New B (Yamoah & Renic, 2020). The Government of New Brunswick (GNB) has refused to fund abortions at this site as it considers it a private abortion clinic (Hansen & Harnish, 2020). However, the majority of services provided by Clinic 554 are covered by the Province of New Brunswick. The only procedure at the clinic not paid for by the province is abortions. Instead, the GNB has stated that abortions can be completed at three provincially funded hospitals (in Moncton and Bathurst). The GNB’s funding policy on abortions is based on Regulation 84-20 of the Medical Services Payment Act (approved in 1984), which bans the funding of abortions outside of hospitals (Glynn, 2020). However, the federal government has stated the GNB is acting contrary to the Canada Health Act which covers out of hospital abortions (Bell, 2020). In addition, 36 Senators of which five are from New Brunswick, have noted their support for Clinic 554, siting women were granted the right to have an abortion, without fear of reprisal in 1988 by the Supreme Court of Canada (Heenan, 2020). While the Senators note this is a provincial matter, it states the GNB needs to reduce the barriers and regulatory controls preventing abortions at the clinic.
Supporters of Clinic 554 believe the GNB is using these discriminatory practices and regulatory controls by framing the clinic as private and insists the province repeal Regulation 84-20. Protests, demonstrations, and vigils have occurred in support of keeping Clinic 554 open. Most recently, protesters set up two tents at the legislature which were quickly removed by legislative security officials and several police officers. Attendees at the vigil were provided documents from the Legislative Assembly of New Brunswick signed by the Sergeant-at-Arms, giving security officials authority to remove the tents. The premise for the removal notes tents cannot be erected for camping as part of a protest. However, attendees were clear, including a law professor from the University of New Brunswick who noted the tents were erected as part of a protest and not as a structure for camping, thereby giving officials no authority to remove them (Renic, 2020). The clock is ticking, and time is quickly running out for both the GNB to repeal Regulation 84-20 and the Government of Canada to be more actively engaged.
References
Bell, M. (2020, October 20). The closing of clinic 554. Brunswickan. https://www.thebruns.ca/articles/the-closing-of-clinic-554CBC. (2020, September 20).
Heenan, M. (2020, September 20). 36 senators sign letter in support of clinic 554. https://www.cbc.ca/news/canada/new-brunswick/clinic-554-senators-letter- support-abortion-new-brunswick-1.5744390.
Clinic 554. (n.d.). Patient-driven Healthcare. http://www.clinic554.ca/index.html.
Clinic 554. (n.d.). Our care. http://www.clinic554.ca/care.html.
Glynn, T. (2020, September 20). Law Grad Occupying NB Legislature for Clinic 554. https://nbmediacoop.org/2020/09/20/law-grad-occupying-new-brunswick-legislature-grounds-for-clinic-554/.
Hansen, J., & Harnish, S. (2020, April 14). Myth #1: Clinic 554 is a Private Abortion Clinic. NB Media Co-op. https://nbmediacoop.org/2020/04/14/myth-1-clinic-554-is-a-private- abortion-clinic/.
Renic, C. (2020, September 26). Security Removes Tents from Protestors during Vigil for Clinic 554 at N.B. Legislature. Global News. https://globalnews.ca/news/7361667/clinic-554-n- b-legislature-protesters-tents/.
Yamoah, M., & Renic, K. (2020, October 3). New Brunswick Medical Society warns of health-care gaps after Clinic 554 close. Global News. https://globalnews.ca/news/7376681/medical-society-warns-after-clinic-554-closes/.
Carragh Miller 