{"schema":"abhortion.org/legislation.full/v1","id":"legality-ca-nb","type":"legislation","level":"province","jurisdiction":"New Brunswick","as_of_date":"2026-07-13","research_completed_date":"2026-07-13","headline":"Fully funded but geographically sparse","summary":"New Brunswick publicly funds both medication and procedural abortion for all Medicare holders, but procedural services are limited to three hospitals in two cities with no free-standing clinics.","machine_readable_summary":{"access_classification":"funding_gaps","criminal_restrictions":false,"restriction_attempts_present_or_past":true,"insured_service":"fully_insured","clinic_abortions_funded":true,"reciprocal_billing_covered":true,"travel_assistance_program":false,"services_locally_available":"hospitals_only","surgical_service_limit_weeks":14,"medication_abortion_available":"yes","mifegymiso_universally_covered":true,"telehealth_prescribing_available":true,"safe_access_zone_law":false,"effective_referral_required":"unclear","institutional_objection_present":false,"minor_consent_regime":"mature_minor_common_law","statutory_consent_age":16,"parental_involvement_required":false,"fetal_wrongful_death_action":false,"major_pending_change":false},"links":{"html":"https://www.abhortion.org/legislation/ca-nb.html","markdown":"https://www.abhortion.org/legislation/ca-nb.md","summary_json":"https://www.abhortion.org/legislation/ca-nb.json","full_json":"https://www.abhortion.org/legislation/ca-nb-full.json","verbose_json":"https://www.abhortion.org/legislation/ca-nb-verbose.json"},"overview":{"title":"Fully funded but geographically sparse","summary":"New Brunswick publicly funds both medication and procedural abortion for all Medicare holders, but procedural services are limited to three hospitals in two cities with no free-standing clinics.","description":"Abortion in New Brunswick is legal and publicly funded — both medication abortion (the abortion pill, Mifegymiso) and procedural abortion are free for anyone with a New Brunswick Medicare card. Medication abortion can be prescribed by any doctor or nurse practitioner and is available up to nine weeks of pregnancy. Procedural abortion is offered at three hospitals — in Moncton and Bathurst — up to about 14 weeks gestation, though Moncton Hospital may accommodate up to 18 weeks depending on physician availability. No free-standing abortion clinic currently operates in the province. The previous restriction that blocked public funding for abortions outside hospitals was repealed in November 2024, and a centralized self-referral phone line launched in March 2026. Residents in the western and southern parts of the province, including Fredericton and Saint John, must travel for procedural abortion. There is no provincial travel-assistance program to offset those costs, and there is no safe-access-zone law to protect facilities from protest.","verification":"verified","confidence":"high","sources":[{"name":"Government of New Brunswick (laws.gnb.ca)","href":"https://laws.gnb.ca/en/document/cs/M-7"},{"name":"Government of New Brunswick (laws.gnb.ca)","href":"https://www.canlii.org/en/nb/laws/regu/nb-reg-84-20/latest/nb-reg-84-20.html"},{"name":"Government of New Brunswick","href":"https://www.gnb.ca/en/news/n-b.2024.11.changes-announced-to-fund-surgical-abortions-outside-hospitals.html"}]},"sections":{"division_of_powers":{"title":"Criminal law federal; access provincial","summary":"The federal government has exclusive criminal-law jurisdiction and no criminal abortion prohibition exists; provinces control abortion access through health insurance, facility funding, and professional regulation.","description":"In Canada, only the federal government can pass criminal laws. Abortion has not been a crime since the Supreme Court of Canada struck down the old Criminal Code provisions in 1988 (R v Morgentaler), and Parliament repealed the remaining sections in 2019. New Brunswick cannot criminalize abortion — any attempt would be ultra vires (beyond provincial authority), as the Supreme Court confirmed in 1993 when it struck down Nova Scotia's attempt to restrict abortion through provincial regulation. What New Brunswick can and does control is: whether Medicare pays for abortion (through the Medical Services Payment Act and Regulation 84-20), which facilities may provide it, which health professionals may prescribe or perform it, and under what conditions. The province also sets rules for medical consent by minors and for the patient-physician relationship. These are lawful exercises of provincial power over health care delivery, hospitals, and professional regulation under sections 92(7), 92(13), and 92(16) of the Constitution Act, 1867.","verification":"semi_verified","confidence":"high","sources":[{"name":"Supreme Court of Canada (CanLII)","href":"https://www.canlii.org/en/ca/scc/doc/1993/1993canlii74/1993canlii74.html"},{"name":"Justice Laws Website","href":"https://laws-lois.justice.gc.ca/eng/const/page-1.html"},{"name":"Justice Laws Website","href":"https://laws-lois.justice.gc.ca/eng/acts/c-6/"}]},"current_status":{"title":"Fully insured, no clinic services operational","summary":"All forms of abortion are publicly insured since November 2024, but procedural abortion is only available at three hospitals; medication abortion is widely accessible through physicians and nurse practitioners.","description":"Today, both procedural and medication abortion are publicly funded in New Brunswick for anyone with a valid Medicare card. The November 2024 repeal of the hospital-only funding restriction means Medicare can now also pay for abortions outside hospitals, though no free-standing clinic has opened since the repeal. Three hospitals provide procedural abortion: the Moncton Hospital, the Dr. Georges-L.-Dumont University Hospital Centre in Moncton, and the Chaleur Regional Hospital in Bathurst. Medication abortion (Mifegymiso) is covered at no cost through the Medical Abortion Program for prescriptions up to nine weeks gestation, written by any doctor or nurse practitioner and filled at any community pharmacy. A centralized self-referral phone line (1-844-806-9205) launched in March 2026 to help patients navigate and book services. There is no statutory safe-access-zone law protecting facilities, providers, or patients. The medical regulator (CPSNB) has a conscientious objection standard that requires objecting physicians to facilitate patient access to care, though it does not use the term 'effective referral.'","verification":"verified","confidence":"high","sources":[{"name":"Government of New Brunswick","href":"https://www.gnb.ca/en/topic/health-wellness/sexual-health/abortion.html"},{"name":"Government of New Brunswick (gnb.ca)","href":"https://www.gnb.ca/content/dam/GNB3/t/hw-sme/sexual-health-sante-sexuelle/abortion-access-avortement/doc/medical-abortion-plan-policy-pogramme-avortement-medical.pdf"},{"name":"College of Physicians and Surgeons of New Brunswick","href":"https://cpsnb.org/en/physicians/professional-standards2/professional-standards/1109-conscientious-objection"}]},"funding_and_insurance":{"provincial_health_plan":{"title":"Fully insured, all settings","summary":"Both procedural and medication abortion are insured services under the New Brunswick Medical Services Payment Act for all residents with a valid Medicare card, without restriction to hospital settings as of November 2024.","description":"Abortion is a publicly insured service under New Brunswick's Medical Services Payment Act. Anyone with a valid New Brunswick Medicare card can receive a procedural abortion or a prescription for medication abortion (Mifegymiso) at no cost. The cost of Mifegymiso is covered through the Medical Abortion Program (Plan J), a separate provincial drug plan that charges no fees or co-payments. For decades, provincial regulation blocked Medicare funding for abortions performed outside hospitals. That restriction was repealed on November 7, 2024, so Medicare can now pay for procedural abortions in any setting, not just hospitals.","verification":"verified","confidence":"high","sources":[{"name":"Government of New Brunswick (laws.gnb.ca)","href":"https://laws.gnb.ca/en/showpdf/cs/M-7.pdf"},{"name":"Government of New Brunswick","href":"https://www.gnb.ca/en/news/n-b.2024.11.changes-announced-to-fund-surgical-abortions-outside-hospitals.html"}]},"clinic_vs_hospital_funding":{"title":"Now funded in all settings","summary":"The November 2024 repeal of Regulation 84-20, Schedule 2(a.1) ended the decades-old exclusion of clinic-based procedural abortions from Medicare coverage, though no community clinics have yet begun offering the service.","description":"For decades, New Brunswick refused to pay for abortions performed outside hospitals — the only province in Canada with such a restriction. This meant patients at Clinic 554, the free-standing abortion clinic in Fredericton, had to pay $700 to $850 out of pocket. The federal government penalized New Brunswick by deducting a total of $444,041 from Canada Health Transfer payments between 2020 and 2024. In November 2024, the newly elected Liberal government under Premier Susan Holt repealed the restriction. Medicare can now fund procedural abortions in any setting. However, Clinic 554 had already closed in January 2024, and no new community-based procedural abortion service has yet opened. The three-hospital arrangement remains the only source of procedural abortion in the province.","verification":"verified","confidence":"high","sources":[{"name":"Government of Canada (open.canada.ca)","href":"https://search.open.canada.ca/qpnotes/record/hc-sc%2CMH-%202024-QP%200009"},{"name":"Canadian Civil Liberties Association (ccla.org)","href":"https://ccla.org/press-release/ccla-announces-victory-and-discontinues-abortion-access-challenge-in-new-brunswick"}]},"reciprocal_billing":{"title":"Abortion covered since June 2015","summary":"Abortion was removed from the Interprovincial Reciprocal Billing Agreement's excluded-services list in June 2015, so New Brunswick residents can now receive insured abortion services in other provinces without paying upfront.","description":"Since June 2015, abortion has been covered under the interprovincial reciprocal billing agreement. This means a New Brunswick resident who needs an abortion while in another province — for example, a student living away from home or someone who must travel for a later-gestation procedure — can present their New Brunswick Medicare card and receive the service without paying out of pocket. Before 2015, abortion was explicitly listed as an excluded service, meaning patients had to pay upfront and seek reimbursement.","verification":"verify_before_publication","confidence":"high","sources":[{"name":"Abortion Rights Coalition of Canada (arcc-cdac.ca)","href":"https://www.arcc-cdac.ca/media/position-papers/04-Reciprocal-Billing.pdf"}]},"travel_assistance":{"title":"No provincial travel-assistance program","summary":"New Brunswick is one of only two provinces with no public medical travel subsidy program; patients who must travel for an abortion bear their own transportation costs, though limited hostel and meal allowances exist for out-of-province care.","description":"New Brunswick has no public program that covers travel costs for patients who must leave their community to get an abortion. This is particularly important because procedural abortion is only available in Moncton and Bathurst — residents of Fredericton, Saint John, Edmundston, and rural and northern communities face significant travel burdens. New Brunswick Medicare does offer a hostel and meal allowance of up to $150 per day for patients who must stay outside the province for medical care for at least three consecutive nights, but it explicitly does not cover travel expenses. The national charity Hope Air provides some free flights and accommodations for patients in financial need, but this is not a provincial government program and is subject to charitable funding constraints.","verification":"verified","confidence":"high","sources":[{"name":"Government of New Brunswick (gnb.ca)","href":"https://www2.gnb.ca/content/gnb/en/departments/health/DrugPlans/content/medicare/OutOfProvinceHostelFacilities-MealAllowance.html"},{"name":"Academia.edu / academic research","href":"https://www.academia.edu/97075428/Publicly_Funded_Medical_Travel_Subsidy_Programs_in_Canada"}]}},"service_availability":{"where_available":{"title":"Three hospitals, two cities","summary":"Procedural abortion is available at three hospitals — the Moncton Hospital, Dr. Georges-L.-Dumont University Hospital Centre (Moncton), and Chaleur Regional Hospital (Bathurst) — while medication abortion can be prescribed by any physician or nurse practitioner province-wide.","description":"Procedural (surgical) abortion is only available at three hospitals in New Brunswick: the Moncton Hospital and the Dr. Georges-L.-Dumont University Hospital Centre, both in Moncton, and the Chaleur Regional Hospital in Bathurst. There are no free-standing abortion clinics operating anywhere in the province. Fredericton (the capital), Saint John (the largest city), and all northern and rural communities have no local procedural abortion access. Medication abortion (Mifegymiso) is far more accessible: any doctor or nurse practitioner anywhere in the province can prescribe it, and it can be dispensed at any community pharmacy. A centralized self-referral phone line (1-844-806-9205) helps patients navigate both medication and procedural options. Telehealth prescribing for medication abortion is also available.","verification":"verified","confidence":"high","sources":[{"name":"Vitalité Health Network (vitalitenb.ca)","href":"https://vitalitenb.ca/en/services-and-locations/service-directory/abortion"},{"name":"Horizon Health Network (horizonnb.ca)","href":"https://horizonnb.ca/services/clinics/family-planning-clinic-abortion-clinic"},{"name":"Government of New Brunswick","href":"https://www.gnb.ca/en/news/n-b.2026.03.new-central-phone-service-support-self-referral-for-abortion-services.html"}]},"gestational_service_limits":{"title":"Up to 14 weeks; 18 weeks in limited cases","summary":"Procedural abortion is routinely available up to 14 weeks in Moncton and 13 weeks 6 days in Bathurst, with Moncton Hospital occasionally able to accommodate patients up to 18 weeks depending on physician availability — these are service-policy limits, not legal ones.","description":"There is no legal gestational limit on abortion in New Brunswick. But in practice, the hospitals set their own cutoffs based on physician availability and facility policy. Vitalité hospitals (Bathurst and Dr. Georges-L.-Dumont) serve patients up to 13 weeks and 6 days. Moncton Hospital (Horizon Health) serves patients up to 14 weeks routinely and, depending on which physicians are available, may accommodate patients up to 18 weeks. Patients past these limits must travel out of province — most commonly to Nova Scotia, Quebec, or the United States — to access later-gestation abortion care. The provincial government's own website advises patients who are past 16 weeks to look for clinics elsewhere in Canada.","verification":"verified","confidence":"high","sources":[{"name":"Vitalité Health Network","href":"https://vitalitenb.ca/en/services-and-locations/service-directory/abortion"},{"name":"Horizon Health Network","href":"https://horizonnb.ca/services/clinics/family-planning-clinic-abortion-clinic"}]}},"methods":{"procedural_surgical":{"title":"Hospital-based, 14-18 week practical limit","summary":"Procedural abortion is performed by physicians in three hospital-based family planning clinics; no free-standing clinic currently offers the service, and no regulatory permission beyond ordinary medical licensure is required.","description":"Procedural (surgical) abortion — also called uterine aspiration — is provided at the three hospital-based family planning clinics in Moncton and Bathurst. It is performed by physicians, with support from nurses and counsellors. The procedure is free for anyone with a Canadian provincial or territorial health card. No free-standing clinic currently offers procedural abortion, despite the 2024 regulatory change that now permits Medicare funding outside hospitals. The procedure is subject to the usual professional standards of the College of Physicians and Surgeons of New Brunswick, with no additional abortion-specific regulatory requirements.","verification":"verified","confidence":"high","sources":[{"name":"Horizon Health Network","href":"https://horizonnb.ca/services/clinics/family-planning-clinic-abortion-clinic"}]},"medication":{"title":"Mifegymiso: free, widely accessible","summary":"Mifegymiso is universally covered at no cost through the Medical Abortion Program for all New Brunswick Medicare holders, prescribed by any physician or nurse practitioner up to 9 weeks gestation, and dispensed at any community pharmacy.","description":"The abortion pill (Mifegymiso — a combination of mifepristone and misoprostol) is free for anyone who holds a valid New Brunswick Medicare card. There are no co-payments, no deductible, and no requirement to enrol in a drug plan. Any doctor or nurse practitioner in the province can prescribe it, and the prescription can be filled at any community pharmacy. The medication is approved for use up to nine weeks (63 days) of pregnancy. Prescriptions can also be issued through telehealth (virtual appointments). New Brunswick was the first province in Canada to announce universal no-cost Mifegymiso coverage, doing so in April 2017.","verification":"verified","confidence":"high","sources":[{"name":"Government of New Brunswick (gnb.ca)","href":"https://www.gnb.ca/content/dam/GNB3/t/hw-sme/sexual-health-sante-sexuelle/abortion-access-avortement/doc/medical-abortion-plan-policy-pogramme-avortement-medical.pdf"},{"name":"CBC News","href":"https://www.cbc.ca/news/canada/new-brunswick/launch-self-referral-abortion-line-9.7141542"}]},"self_managed":{"title":"No criminal exposure; regulatory gaps","summary":"Self-managed abortion is not a criminal offence in Canada; the Criminal Code abortion provisions were repealed in 2019, and a pregnant person who ends their own pregnancy faces no criminal liability under any New Brunswick or federal law.","description":"A person in New Brunswick who ends their own pregnancy outside the medical system — for example, by obtaining abortion pills online from an international source — is not committing a crime. The Criminal Code sections that once criminalized abortion were struck down in 1988 and formally repealed in 2019. No provincial law criminalizes self-managed abortion. However, there are regulatory edge cases: importing prescription drugs without authorization may violate Health Canada's Food and Drugs Act, and a non-physician who provides pills to another person could theoretically face unauthorized-practice or drug-trafficking scrutiny, though such prosecutions are virtually unknown in the Canadian abortion context.","verification":"semi_verified","confidence":"high","sources":[{"name":"Justice Laws Website","href":"https://laws-lois.justice.gc.ca/eng/acts/c-46/section-223.html"},{"name":"Parliament of Canada","href":"https://laws-lois.justice.gc.ca/eng/AnnualStatutes/2019_25/page-1.html"}]}},"providers_and_regulation":{"who_may_provide":{"title":"Physicians and nurse practitioners","summary":"Physicians perform procedural abortions; physicians and nurse practitioners may prescribe Mifegymiso; pharmacists dispense it; midwives currently cannot prescribe Mifegymiso in New Brunswick.","description":"In New Brunswick, procedural abortions are performed by physicians in hospital-based family planning clinics. Any licensed physician or nurse practitioner in New Brunswick can prescribe Mifegymiso. Pharmacists dispense the medication at community pharmacies. Midwives are not currently authorized to prescribe Mifegymiso in New Brunswick, though the provincial government introduced amendments to the Midwifery Act in March 2026 to expand midwifery scope of practice — these amendments do not explicitly add Mifegymiso prescribing but could enable it through regulation.","verification":"verified","confidence":"high","sources":[{"name":"Vitalité Health Network","href":"https://vitalitenb.ca/en/services-and-locations/service-directory/abortion"},{"name":"Government of New Brunswick","href":"https://www.gnb.ca/en/news/n-b.2026.03.amendments-aim-expand-midwives-roles-and-support-training.html"}]},"conscience_and_referral":{"title":"Conscientious objection: facilitate access, no 'effective referral' term","summary":"The CPSNB's Conscientious Objection standard (amended March 2026) requires objecting physicians to provide patients with information on how to access the service and to not obstruct care, but does not use the term 'effective referral.'","description":"A New Brunswick physician who objects to providing abortion on moral or religious grounds must follow the College of Physicians and Surgeons of New Brunswick's Conscientious Objection standard. The physician must tell the patient promptly, provide 'clear, unbiased and comprehensive information regarding the publicly available resources to support their understanding of how to access the treatments or procedures they are seeking,' continue providing unrelated care until another provider takes over, and provide care in an emergency even if it conflicts with their conscience. However, the standard does not use the phrase 'effective referral' — the language is less prescriptive than the Ontario policy upheld in Christian Medical and Dental Society v College of Physicians and Surgeons of Ontario (2019 ONCA 393). The CPSNB Code of Ethics additionally requires physicians to 'expedite access to another physician' if denial or delay of treatment could cause harm.","verification":"verified","confidence":"medium","sources":[{"name":"College of Physicians and Surgeons of New Brunswick (cpsnb.org)","href":"https://cpsnb.org/en/physicians/professional-standards2/professional-standards/1109-conscientious-objection"},{"name":"College of Physicians and Surgeons of New Brunswick (cpsnb.org)","href":"https://cpsnb.org/en/physicians/medical-act-regulation/code-of-ethics"},{"name":"Court of Appeal for Ontario (CanLII)","href":"https://www.canlii.org/en/on/onca/doc/2019/2019onca393/2019onca393.html"}]},"institutional_refusal":{"title":"No institutional refusal documented","summary":"New Brunswick's three abortion-providing hospitals are secular public facilities; there is no documented institutional refusal by a publicly funded faith-based hospital or health authority, though some Catholic-affiliated facilities exist within the health networks.","description":"There is no evidence that any publicly funded hospital or health authority in New Brunswick refuses to provide abortion on institutional religious grounds. The three hospitals that provide procedural abortion are secular public institutions. New Brunswick's health system does include some facilities with Catholic heritage (such as St. Joseph's Hospital in Saint John, operated by Horizon Health Network under a Catholic Health International sponsorship), but these facilities are not the designated providers of abortion services, and Horizon Health Network as a whole provides abortion at the Moncton Hospital. The two health authorities (Horizon and Vitalité) do not have institutional policies declining to offer abortion.","verification":"semi_verified","confidence":"medium","sources":[{"name":"Government of New Brunswick (laws.gnb.ca)","href":"https://laws.gnb.ca/en/document/cs/2011,%20c.217"},{"name":"Horizon Health Network (horizonnb.ca)","href":"https://horizonnb.ca/facilities/st-josephs-health-centre"}]}},"safe_access_zones":{"title":"No safe-access-zone law","summary":"New Brunswick has no statutory safe-access-zone or buffer-zone law protecting abortion facilities, providers, or patients from protest, harassment, or obstruction.","description":"New Brunswick has not enacted a safe-access-zone law — sometimes called a 'bubble zone' law — to create a protective perimeter around abortion clinics and hospitals where protesting, harassment, or obstruction is prohibited. Several other Canadian provinces (British Columbia, Ontario, Quebec, Newfoundland and Labrador, Nova Scotia, and others) have such laws. In New Brunswick, patients and providers rely on general criminal law (such as Criminal Code provisions against harassment, mischief, and intimidation) and any injunctions a court might issue. As of July 2025, no safe-access-zone bill has been introduced in the New Brunswick legislature.","verification":"verify_before_publication","confidence":"high","sources":[{"name":"Abortion Rights Coalition of Canada (arcc-cdac.ca)","href":"https://www.arcc-cdac.ca/media/2022/06/PBSC-Safe-Access-Zone-Laws-in-Atlantic-Canada.pdf"}]},"minors":{"consent_capacity":{"title":"Age 16 statutory; mature minor below 16","summary":"Under the Medical Consent of Minors Act, a minor aged 16 or older consents as an adult; a minor under 16 may consent if a health professional determines they understand the nature and consequences and the treatment is in their best interests.","description":"In New Brunswick, a young person aged 16 or older can consent to an abortion on their own, exactly as if they were an adult. No parental consent or notification is required. A person under age 16 can also consent on their own if the attending physician, nurse practitioner, nurse, or midwife is satisfied that the minor is capable of understanding the nature and consequences of the procedure and that the abortion is in their best interests and continuing health and well-being. This is effectively a codified 'mature minor' rule. Parents do not need to be informed and have no statutory right to be told or to override the minor's decision.","verification":"verified","confidence":"high","sources":[{"name":"Government of New Brunswick (laws.gnb.ca)","href":"https://laws.gnb.ca/en/document/cs/M-6.1"}]},"confidentiality":{"title":"No parental access to minor's records","summary":"Under the Personal Health Information Privacy and Access Act, a minor who consents to their own medical treatment controls access to their health records; parents have no statutory right to access those records without the minor's consent.","description":"If a minor is legally entitled to consent to an abortion on their own — either because they are 16 or older, or because a health professional has determined they are a mature minor under 16 — then the minor controls who can access their health records. Under New Brunswick's Personal Health Information Privacy and Access Act (PHIPAA), the minor's parents do not have an automatic right to see those records or to be told about the procedure. The health provider must maintain the minor's confidentiality just as they would for an adult patient.","verification":"semi_verified","confidence":"high","sources":[{"name":"Government of New Brunswick / CanLII","href":"https://www.canlii.org/en/nb/laws/stat/snb-2009-c-p-7.05/latest/snb-2009-c-p-7.05.html"}]}},"fetal_status_and_paternal_rights":{"civil_fetal_status":{"title":"No fetal personhood; born-alive rule governs","summary":"A fetus has no independent legal personality in New Brunswick civil law: the Fatal Accidents Act applies only to a 'person' whose death is caused by a wrongful act, and the born-alive rule — affirmed by the Supreme Court of Canada — means legal personhood begins at live birth.","description":"Under New Brunswick law, a fetus is not a legal person. If a pregnant person is injured and the pregnancy ends, there is no separate wrongful-death claim for the fetus. The Fatal Accidents Act allows dependants to sue for the death of a 'person,' and Canadian courts — including the Supreme Court in Tremblay v Daigle (1989) — have consistently held that a fetus does not have legal personality before birth. If a child is born alive and then dies from prenatal injuries, the estate may bring a claim. A child born alive may also sue for injuries sustained before birth, as the New Brunswick case Dobson v Dobson (1999) confirmed, though the Supreme Court held a mother cannot be liable in tort for prenatal negligence toward the fetus.","verification":"semi_verified","confidence":"high","sources":[{"name":"Supreme Court of Canada (CanLII)","href":"https://www.canlii.org/en/ca/scc/doc/1989/1989canlii33/1989canlii33.html"},{"name":"Supreme Court of Canada (CanLII)","href":"https://ca.vlex.com/vid/dobson-v-dobson-681642653"},{"name":"Government of New Brunswick (laws.gnb.ca / CanLII)","href":"https://www.canlii.org/en/nb/laws/stat/rsnb-2012-c-104/latest/rsnb-2012-c-104.html"}]},"paternal_rights":{"title":"No paternal veto; Tremblay v Daigle controls","summary":"The father of a fetus has no legal standing to prevent or block an abortion; Tremblay v Daigle forecloses injunctions sought by a father, and no New Brunswick legislation or court has attempted to revive any such right.","description":"In New Brunswick — as everywhere in Canada — the person who is pregnant has the sole legal authority to decide whether to continue or terminate the pregnancy. The father, regardless of marital status, cannot obtain a court order to prevent an abortion. The Supreme Court of Canada made this clear in Tremblay v Daigle (1989): a fetus has no independent rights and the father has no legal interest that can override the pregnant person's decision. No New Brunswick legislature or court has ever enacted or recognized a paternal right to block an abortion, and any attempt to do so would conflict with the binding Supreme Court precedent.","verification":"semi_verified","confidence":"high","sources":[{"name":"Supreme Court of Canada (CanLII)","href":"https://www.canlii.org/en/ca/scc/doc/1989/1989canlii33/1989canlii33.html"}]},"pregnancy_and_state_intervention":{"title":"No state power to detain for fetal protection","summary":"Under Winnipeg Child and Family Services v G (DF), the state cannot detain a pregnant person to protect a fetus; New Brunswick's child-protection law defines 'child' as a person under 16 who has been born, providing no basis for prenatal intervention.","description":"New Brunswick cannot detain or force medical treatment on a pregnant person to protect a fetus. The Supreme Court of Canada ruled in Winnipeg Child and Family Services v G (DF) (1997) that child-protection statutes do not apply to fetuses and that the court cannot order the detention of a pregnant person for fetal protection. New Brunswick's Child and Youth Well-Being Act (2022) defines a 'child' as a person under 16 years of age — a born person. The Act contains no mechanism for intervening before birth. A pregnant person retains full control over their body and medical decisions, including the decision to continue or end a pregnancy, free from state coercion.","verification":"semi_verified","confidence":"high","sources":[{"name":"Supreme Court of Canada (CanLII)","href":"https://www.canlii.org/en/ca/scc/doc/1997/1997canlii336/1997canlii336.html"},{"name":"Government of New Brunswick / CanLII","href":"https://www.canlii.org/en/nb/laws/stat/snb-2022-c-35/latest/snb-2022-c-35.html"}]}},"telehealth_and_interjurisdictional":{"telehealth":{"title":"Telehealth available for medication abortion","summary":"New Brunswick physicians and nurse practitioners may prescribe Mifegymiso via telehealth (virtual appointments); the medication is dispensed at community pharmacies, and providers bill the Medical Abortion Program or Medicare as usual.","description":"Patients in New Brunswick can obtain a prescription for Mifegymiso through a telehealth (virtual) appointment with a doctor or nurse practitioner licensed in New Brunswick. The prescription is then filled at any community pharmacy in Canada, which submits the claim directly to the New Brunswick Drug Plans under the Medical Abortion Program. There is no requirement for an in-person visit, ultrasound, or specialist consultation. Telehealth prescribing has significantly improved access, especially for patients in rural and northern communities who would otherwise face long travel distances to reach a provider.","verification":"verified","confidence":"high","sources":[{"name":"Government of New Brunswick (gnb.ca)","href":"https://www.gnb.ca/content/dam/GNB3/t/hw-sme/sexual-health-sante-sexuelle/abortion-access-avortement/doc/medical-abortion-plan-policy-pogramme-avortement-medical.pdf"},{"name":"PMC / NIH National Library of Medicine","href":"https://pmc.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/articles/PMC10171945"}]},"cross_border_patients":{"title":"Out-of-province care insured; non-resident access limited","summary":"New Brunswick residents who travel out of province for abortion are covered by reciprocal billing since 2015; out-of-province residents may access NB abortion services with their home-province health card under the same reciprocal agreement.","description":"New Brunswick residents who need to travel to another province for an abortion — particularly those past 14-18 weeks who need later-gestation care — can use their New Brunswick Medicare card at the point of service in any other Canadian province, thanks to the 2015 removal of abortion from the reciprocal billing exclusion list. The hospital-based clinics in Moncton and Bathurst also accept out-of-province health cards, as noted on Horizon's website: 'Free for health care card holders from across Canada.' For travel to the United States, New Brunswick Medicare may cover the medical service cost (at NB rates only) if the service is not available in Canada and prior approval is obtained, but the patient would typically need to pay the US provider upfront and seek partial reimbursement, with no coverage for travel.","verification":"verified","confidence":"high","sources":[{"name":"Horizon Health Network (horizonnb.ca)","href":"https://horizonnb.ca/services/clinics/family-planning-clinic-abortion-clinic"},{"name":"Government of New Brunswick (laws.gnb.ca)","href":"https://laws.gnb.ca/en/showpdf/cs/M-7.pdf"}]}}},"recent_changes":[{"date":"2014-11-26","event":"Premier Brian Gallant's Liberal government repealed the 'two-doctor rule' that required certification by two physicians (one a specialist) for a hospital abortion to be Medicare-funded. Abortion was still restricted to hospitals.","sources":[{"name":"NB Media Co-op","href":"https://nbmediacoop.org/2014/11/29/abortion-restriction-in-new-brunswick-lifted-but-access-still-a-problem"}]},{"date":"2014-07-01","event":"The Morgentaler Clinic in Fredericton closed after 20 years, citing the province's refusal to fund clinic abortions. The closure left New Brunswick without any free-standing abortion clinic until Clinic 554 opened.","sources":[{"name":"CBC News","href":"https://www.cbc.ca/news/canada/new-brunswick/morgentaler-abortion-clinic-in-fredericton-to-close-1.2604535"}]},{"date":"2015-06-01","event":"The Interprovincial Health Insurance Agreements Coordinating Committee removed abortion from the list of services excluded from interprovincial reciprocal billing, meaning New Brunswick residents could access insured abortion care in other provinces without upfront payment.","sources":[{"name":"Abortion Rights Coalition of Canada","href":"https://www.arcc-cdac.ca/media/position-papers/04-Reciprocal-Billing.pdf"}]},{"date":"2017-04-04","event":"New Brunswick became the first province to announce universal no-cost coverage of Mifegymiso (the abortion pill) for all residents with a valid Medicare card, through the Medical Abortion Program (Plan J).","sources":[{"name":"CBC News","href":"https://www.cbc.ca/news/canada/new-brunswick/abortion-pill-mifegymiso-new-brunswick-free-1.4194436"}]},{"date":"2020-03-01","event":"The federal government began deducting Canada Health Transfer payments from New Brunswick ($140,000 initially) for patient charges at Clinic 554, the private abortion clinic in Fredericton, for violations of the Canada Health Act's prohibition on user charges.","sources":[{"name":"CBC News","href":"https://www.cbc.ca/news/canada/new-brunswick/new-brunswick-transfer-payments-abortion-access-1.5527586"}]},{"date":"2021-01-06","event":"The Canadian Civil Liberties Association (CCLA) filed a constitutional challenge against Regulation 84-20 in the New Brunswick Court of Queen's Bench, alleging that the hospital-only funding restriction violated the Charter and the Canada Health Act.","sources":[{"name":"Court of Queen's Bench of New Brunswick (CanLII)","href":"https://ccla.org/wp-content/uploads/2021/08/Statement-of-Defence-filed-July-12-2021-2.pdf"}]},{"date":"2024-01-31","event":"Clinic 554 in Fredericton — the last free-standing abortion clinic in New Brunswick — closed permanently, eliminating all community-based procedural abortion services in the province.","sources":[{"name":"CBC News","href":"https://www.cbc.ca/news/canada/new-brunswick/clinic-554-fredericton-abortion-1.7100433"}]},{"date":"2024-11-07","event":"Premier Susan Holt's newly elected Liberal government approved changes to Regulation 84-20, removing abortion from Schedule 2 and allowing Medicare to fund surgical abortions outside hospitals for the first time in decades.","sources":[{"name":"Government of New Brunswick","href":"https://www.gnb.ca/en/news/n-b.2024.11.changes-announced-to-fund-surgical-abortions-outside-hospitals.html"}]},{"date":"2026-03-11","event":"New Brunswick launched a centralized self-referral phone line (1-844-806-9205) for abortion services, allowing patients to navigate options and book appointments through a single toll-free number operated by Horizon Health Network.","sources":[{"name":"Government of New Brunswick","href":"https://www.gnb.ca/en/news/n-b.2026.03.new-central-phone-service-support-self-referral-for-abortion-services.html"}]},{"date":"2026-03-18","event":"The government introduced amendments to the Midwifery Act to expand midwives' scope of practice to include care throughout child-bearing years; the bill does not explicitly add Mifegymiso prescribing but may enable it through regulation.","sources":[{"name":"Government of New Brunswick","href":"https://www.gnb.ca/en/news/n-b.2026.03.amendments-aim-expand-midwives-roles-and-support-training.html"}]},{"date":"2026-03-20","event":"The CPSNB updated its Conscientious Objection professional standard (version 3), joining standards from other Atlantic provinces. The standard requires objecting physicians to facilitate patient access to care but does not use the term 'effective referral.'","sources":[{"name":"College of Physicians and Surgeons of New Brunswick","href":"https://cpsnb.org/en/physicians/professional-standards2/professional-standards/1109-conscientious-objection"}]}],"pending_changes":[{"name":"Bill: An Act to Amend the Midwifery Act (introduced March 18, 2026)","type":"legislation","status":"Introduced; not yet passed as of July 2025","effect":"If passed, would expand midwives' scope to include care throughout child-bearing years. Depending on the regulatory schedules adopted after passage, midwives could potentially gain authority to prescribe Mifegymiso, expanding medication-abortion access, especially in rural areas.","sources":[{"name":"Government of New Brunswick","href":"https://www.gnb.ca/en/news/n-b.2026.03.amendments-aim-expand-midwives-roles-and-support-training.html"}]},{"name":"Universal contraception coverage (2024 Liberal throne speech promise)","type":"policy","status":"Commitment reaffirmed by Health Minister John Dornan (November 2025); no bill introduced as of July 2025","effect":"Would reduce unintended pregnancies and thus demand for abortion. Dornan has said the province will proceed with or without a federal pharmacare agreement. No legislative mechanism has been specified.","sources":[{"name":"CBC News","href":"https://www.cbc.ca/news/canada/new-brunswick/nb-abortion-access-one-year-after-policy-change-9.6968150"}]}],"key_authorities":[{"name":"Medical Services Payment Act","citation":"Medical Services Payment Act, RSNB 1973, c M-7","type":"statute","url":"https://laws.gnb.ca/en/document/cs/M-7","why":"Defines 'entitled services' and creates the framework under which abortion is insured in New Brunswick; the regulation under this Act was the mechanism for the decades-long hospital-only funding restriction."},{"name":"Regulation 84-20 (General Regulation)","citation":"General Regulation - Medical Services Payment Act, NB Reg 84-20","type":"regulation","url":"https://www.canlii.org/en/nb/laws/regu/nb-reg-84-20/latest/nb-reg-84-20.html","why":"Formerly contained Schedule 2, para (a.1), which deemed abortion not an entitled service unless performed in an approved hospital. This paragraph was repealed November 7, 2024, ending the hospital-only restriction."},{"name":"Medical Consent of Minors Act","citation":"Medical Consent of Minors Act, RSNB 1976, c M-6.1","type":"statute","url":"https://laws.gnb.ca/en/document/cs/M-6.1","why":"Sets the minor-consent framework: age 16 for presumptive adult consent, and a codified mature-minor rule under s. 3(1) for those under 16 based on capacity and best interests."},{"name":"Fatal Accidents Act","citation":"Fatal Accidents Act, RSNB 2012, c 104","type":"statute","url":"https://www.canlii.org/en/nb/laws/stat/rsnb-2012-c-104/latest/rsnb-2012-c-104.html","why":"Defines 'deceased' as a 'person,' consistent with the born-alive rule; under Canadian jurisprudence, no wrongful-death claim lies for a fetus."},{"name":"R v Morgentaler","citation":"R v Morgentaler, [1988] 1 SCR 30","type":"case","url":"https://www.canlii.org/en/ca/scc/doc/1988/1988canlii90/1988canlii90.html","why":"The foundational Supreme Court decision striking down Criminal Code s. 251 as violating s. 7 of the Charter; the reason no criminal abortion prohibition exists in Canada."},{"name":"R v Morgentaler (1993)","citation":"R v Morgentaler, [1993] 3 SCR 463","type":"case","url":"https://www.canlii.org/en/ca/scc/doc/1993/1993canlii74/1993canlii74.html","why":"Struck down a Nova Scotia regulation restricting abortion to hospitals as ultra vires provincial criminal law; the key division-of-powers precedent limiting what provinces may do."},{"name":"Tremblay v Daigle","citation":"Tremblay v Daigle, [1989] 2 SCR 530","type":"case","url":"https://www.canlii.org/en/ca/scc/doc/1989/1989canlii33/1989canlii33.html","why":"Held that a fetus is not a legal person and that a father has no standing to seek an injunction to prevent an abortion; forecloses paternal-veto claims in all Canadian jurisdictions."},{"name":"Dobson (Litigation Guardian of) v Dobson","citation":"Dobson (Litigation Guardian of) v Dobson, [1999] 2 SCR 753","type":"case","url":"https://ca.vlex.com/vid/dobson-v-dobson-681642653","why":"A New Brunswick case establishing that a mother cannot be liable in tort for prenatal negligence toward the fetus; a child born alive may sue for prenatal injuries but not against its mother."},{"name":"Winnipeg Child and Family Services v G (DF)","citation":"Winnipeg Child and Family Services (Northwest Area) v G (DF), [1997] 3 SCR 925","type":"case","url":"https://www.canlii.org/en/ca/scc/doc/1997/1997canlii336/1997canlii336.html","why":"Held that child-protection statutes do not apply to fetuses and that courts cannot order the detention of a pregnant person for fetal protection."},{"name":"Canada Health Act","citation":"Canada Health Act, RSC 1985, c C-6","type":"statute","url":"https://laws-lois.justice.gc.ca/eng/acts/c-6/","why":"The federal spending-power statute under which Health Canada deducted $444,041 from New Brunswick's Canada Health Transfer for patient charges at Clinic 554."},{"name":"CPSNB Conscientious Objection Standard","citation":"College of Physicians and Surgeons of New Brunswick, Professional Standard: Conscientious Objection (v. 3, March 20, 2026)","type":"regulator_policy","url":"https://cpsnb.org/en/physicians/professional-standards2/professional-standards/1109-conscientious-objection","why":"Governs how NB physicians may exercise conscientious objection to abortion; requires facilitation of patient access but does not use 'effective referral' language."},{"name":"Medical Abortion Program (Plan J) Policy","citation":"NB Department of Health, Pharmaceutical Services, Medical Abortion Program Policy","type":"regulation","url":"https://www.gnb.ca/content/dam/GNB3/t/hw-sme/sexual-health-sante-sexuelle/abortion-access-avortement/doc/medical-abortion-plan-policy-pogramme-avortement-medical.pdf","why":"Establishes universal no-cost Mifegymiso coverage for all NB Medicare holders; the policy document governing eligibility, prescribing, and pharmacy claims."},{"name":"Personal Health Information Privacy and Access Act","citation":"Personal Health Information Privacy and Access Act, SNB 2009, c P-7.05","type":"statute","url":"https://www.canlii.org/en/nb/laws/stat/snb-2009-c-p-7.05/latest/snb-2009-c-p-7.05.html","why":"Governs confidentiality of health records; s. 5 links to the Medical Consent of Minors Act, so a mature minor who independently consents to abortion also controls access to their records."},{"name":"Constitution Act, 1867","citation":"Constitution Act, 1867 (UK), 30 & 31 Vict, c 3, ss. 91-92","type":"constitution","url":"https://laws-lois.justice.gc.ca/eng/const/page-1.html","why":"The division-of-powers framework: Parliament has exclusive jurisdiction over criminal law (s. 91(27)); provinces control hospitals (s. 92(7)), property and civil rights (s. 92(13)), and local matters (s. 92(16))."},{"name":"Criminal Code (born-alive rule)","citation":"Criminal Code, RSC 1985, c C-46, s 223","type":"statute","url":"https://laws-lois.justice.gc.ca/eng/acts/c-46/section-223.html","why":"Codifies the born-alive rule: a child becomes a human being when it has completely proceeded in a living state from the mother's body; the federal basis for fetal non-personhood in law."}],"research_notes":{"overall_confidence":"high","editor_notes":"Before publication: (1) Verify the current consolidated text of NB Reg 84-20 on laws.gnb.ca to confirm Schedule 2 no longer lists abortion; (2) confirm no safe-access-zone bill has been introduced in the current legislative session; (3) check whether the Midwifery Act amendments have passed and whether any regulations adding Mifegymiso prescribing have been promulgated; (4) confirm the current NB Drug Plans Formulary listing for Mifegymiso under Plan J; (5) re-check the CPSNB Code of Ethics full text for any updates to conscience-related provisions; and (6) verify whether the CCLA litigation has been formally discontinued by court order or merely abandoned.","gaps":["The precise text of the November 2024 order-in-council amending Regulation 84-20 is not publicly indexed on laws.gnb.ca; the GNB news release and secondary reporting are the available sources. The amended text of Regulation 84-20 should be verified by obtaining the order-in-council directly.","The CPSNB Code of Ethics page on cpsnb.org does not display the full annotated text of the Code (only the summary page was accessible); the conscience-related Commentary 12 text was confirmed via the conscience-laws.org mirror. Direct CPSNB source for the full Code with commentaries should be obtained.","Whether midwives will gain Mifegymiso prescribing authority after the Midwifery Act amendments pass depends on regulatory schedules not yet published; this is a developing situation.","The Interprovincial Health Insurance Agreements Coordinating Committee's 2015 decision to remove abortion from the reciprocal-billing exclusion list is not published in any primary government source; the ARCC position paper is the most detailed public account.","No systematic survey of individual New Brunswick physician or pharmacist conscientious-objection practices exists; the CPSNB standard and Code of Ethics are the regulatory framework, but on-the-ground compliance is not independently documented.","Quantitative data on how many New Brunswick residents travel out of province for abortion each year, and to where, is not publicly reported by the Department of Health."]}}