NWT excluded from abortion survey
University of Ottawa will conduct study in Yukon and Nunavut
Meagan Leonard
Northern News Services
Friday, July 24, 2015
SOMBA K'E/YELLOWKNIFE
A national survey on abortion services will not include women from the NWT, despite the territory having the highest procedure rates in the North.
According to data collected by the Canadian Institute of Health Research, 211 women received abortions in the NWT in 2013, compared to 121 in the Yukon and 96 in Nunavut, but a University of Ottawa research group is not collecting data here.
University of Ottawa graduate student Jennifer Cano is leading the Northern portion of the study as part of her master's thesis. She told Yellowknifer her NWT research licence has yet to be approved which is preventing her from gathering data here.
"I'm only recruiting in the Yukon and Nunavut right now because of a pending research licence application," she said. "Assuming that is accepted I will be expanding."
But Access Research NWT licensing co-ordinator Nicole Hammer told Yellowknifer the University of Ottawa had not submitted an application as of July 21. She said in order to conduct research in the territory, the proposal must be distributed to all the communities involved, giving them the opportunity to comment and provide feedback.
Cano couldn't be reached for further clarification on her licence application.
The purpose of the research project is to inform a national study on access to abortion, broken down by region to determine gaps and areas for improvement.
"There's a lot unknown about sexual and reproductive health (in the territories)," said Cano. From the research Cano has conducted so far, she says delivery of services is very different from models seen in the south.
"It seems patterns in the provinces and closer to the U.S. border are shifting to women accessing services at free-standing clinics, whereas in the territories there's only hospital-based services," she said. "The services take place in the surgical suite of the hospital so if there's any kind of emergency surgery ... the abortion procedures get bumped."
The procedure is done in Yellowknife and occasionally in Inuvik, but Status of Women Council executive director Lorraine Phaneuf says more education is needed as many women are not aware of their options and she knows some have had to go out of territory to receive treatment.
"We need to raise awareness of existing programs and improve client confidentiality and provide education and awareness on birth control and reproductive options," she explained.
"Many women are forced to travel long distances to receive treatment."
Given these issues, she says she is disheartened to hear the NWT has been excluded from the survey.
"Reproductive rights are a basic human right that needs to be available to all women in the territories," she said.
"We need to support all reproductive choices women make without judgment."
Because an abortion must be performed before the 12 to 14 week gestation in small facilities that includes Stanton Territorial Hospital, a postponed procedure may mean patients have to travel to larger centres such as Edmonton.
According to Northern Options for Women, an organization that completes patient referrals, travel to Edmonton is covered by the GNWT.
Health and Social Services spokesperson Damien Healy couldn't say if there is a waitlist for abortions in Yellowknife.
Cano says Mifopristone, a pill to induce abortion up to nine weeks, could help expand services to isolated communities.
The two-dose medication is currently under review by Health Canada and has been legalized in more than 50 countries. Part of her study will gauge women's interest in the pill.
"That would be huge for rural populations if a woman could just get to her family doctor or nursing station verses going to the one hospital in the territory's capital," she said.
Over the next few months, Cano and her team will be conducting 90-minute phone interviews asking women who have had abortions in the North about their general background, reproductive health history, circumstances surrounding the pregnancy and feedback on how services could have been improved.
Candice Lys, executive director of FOXY (Fostering Open eXpression among Youth) said abortion programs for women in the territory are strong but more information on options is needed.
She said leaving the NWT out of the study would be unfortunate.
"If they're doing a national study, it would be great to have data from every province and territory," she said.
Cano said ideally she would like 10 to 15 participants from each territory before compiling the report.Northern Options for Women provides medical and surgical abortion referrals for women in the NWT and Kitikmeot region of Nunavut, along with counselling and birth control prescriptions afterward.
