Ottawa — The Supreme Court of Canada has refused to hear an appeal by two Manitoba women who want the province to pay for timely abortions outside public hospitals.
The government now funds the procedure at a not-for-profit clinic.
But the women started a class-action lawsuit against the NDP government in 2001. They contend that they had no choice but to pay for abortions at the private Morgentaler clinic because the wait for a publicly funded procedure at a hospital was as much as eight weeks.
A Court of Queen's Bench justice ruled in December, 2004, that provisions in Manitoba's Health Services Insurance Act that make women pay for abortions outside public hospitals violate their Charter rights.
Last September, however, the Court of Appeal allowed part of the province's challenge to that ruling and said the case should proceed to trial.
Lawyers for the women took the case to the high court to try to get the Queen's Bench ruling reinstated.
Health Minister Tim Sale has said declaring sections of the insurance law unconstitutional infringes on the province's right to decide how health-care dollars are spent.
It could also affect the way governments handle long waiting lists for other procedures, such as hip and knee replacements.
As is customary, the court did not give its reasons for refusing the leave to appeal.
