New Manitoba health minister not responsible for reproductive health, despite holding purse strings

Manitoba's Department of Health may be in charge of the funding, but the Progressive Conservative government has decided talking about reproductive health including abortion remains a women's issue.

The office for newly appointedHealth MinisterHeather Stefansonconfirmed she'llcontinue the PC government's practice of sending questions about reproductive health care to the minister for the status of women.

"It doesn't make a lot of sense. It's also not really transparentin terms of decision making," saidKemlin Nembhard, interim executive director of Winnipeg's Women's Health Clinic.

Her organization is funded by the province toprovideservices likelow-cost birth control, Pap smears,testing for sexually transmitted infections, and abortions.

Nembhard said it's confusing for an organization like hers, which wants to advocate for things like better abortion access, but is told needs to go through a minister who has no control over the clinic's funding.

"We would be talking to the Status of Women [minister], and yet they wouldn't be providing the funding for us. Or we would be talking to the health minister, but they're completely disconnected from it. So that's a problem."

Nembhard said her organization hopesthe new Health minister will takebackthe responsibility for reproductive health care, calling the government's current policy sexist.

Medical student and abortion-rights advocate Lucy Karp says the government is sending the wrong message by separating reproductive healthfrom the Health Department.

"Reproductive health is an essential part of health," Karp said.

"To pigeonhole reproductive health as a women's issue ...ignores all the other elements of health STI testing, Pap smears, safe sex those impacteveryone, as does abortion. It's not just a women's issue," she said.

"To place such an essential part of all human healthas a women's issueI think is shocking, frankly."

History of avoiding abortion questions

The PC party'shealth ministers have a history of staying away from reproductive health conversations.

As the former president of Manitoba Medical Students for Choice, Karp spent months in 2019 trying to speak with then-health minister Cameron Friesen about the abortion pill.

The Manitoba government was under fire for being one of the last provinces refusing to pay for the pill, Mifegymiso, in itsprovincial health plan.

Friesen consistently refused to answer questionsfrom reporters too, saying in March 2019,"I assure you I've got plenty on my plate."

His predecessor in the Health portfolio, Kelvin Goertzen,was criticized in 2018for speaking at an anti-abortion rally in Steinbach.

The province's Opposition health critic,Uzoma Asagwara,allegesthe decision to remove reproductive health from the purview of the health minister was madebecause the governing PCsdon't want to talk about abortion.

"They didn't want to recognize that access to abortion is access to health care," the NDP MLA said.

"Regardless of your ideological beliefs, regardless of what your religious beliefs may be, regardless of your gender ...there are conversations that you have to be willing to have."

Asagwara said the decisionalsocauses extra complications in the health-care system that don't need to be there.

"Health-care providers have to direct their line of questioning to an entirely different minister than they would for any other of their health needs. Why would somebody have to now deal with an entirely different minister for something that is a part of their overall health?" they said.

"Allthat does is jeopardize the health care of folks who need it."

3 women in charge of health care: spokesperson

CBC made multiple requests to the health minister for an interview about reproductive health, but Heather Stefanson'soffice declined, saying she wasn't available.

Spokesperson Brant Batters pointed to the recent appointment of Stefanson and ofAudrey Gordon as minister of mental health, and Cathy Cox's continuingrole as the minister for the status of women.

"Our government takes women's health care very seriously, which is why we now have three women responsible for the many facets of women's health, including reproductive health, in Manitoba," Batters wrote in an email to CBC News.

"These women bring a wealth of experience and diverse backgrounds to their respective roles, and they work together as a team when it comes to women's health."

New health minister still won't handle women's reproductive health

4 years ago

Duration 2:33

Despite the appointment of a woman, Heather Stefanson, as minister of health, Manitoba's Progressive Conservative government still won't include reproductive health under that portfolio. Instead, it will remain under the minister for the status of women.