April 13, 1989

In the first of several legal challenges to the province of New Brunswick, Dr. Morgentaler sought reimbursement for three abortions performed on New Brunswick women at his Quebec clinic. The province argued that the provincial policy was that abortions were covered in New Brunswick only if performed in an accredited hospital and approved by two doctors. The Court responded that no such policy had been formally adopted, and that the only provincial legislation governing abortion, passed in 1985 under Premier Hatfield, did not apply to out-of-province doctors. Dr. Morgentaler won his first case against New Brunswick.