A new abortion law will change where the procedures are permitted to take place in Quebec.
Law 34, passed this spring, will only allow pregnancies to be terminated in a hospital or specialized operating room.
Clinics without an operating room will be forced to upgrade, an undertaking far too costly for some local abortion clinics.
The Alternative Clinic in South-Centre Montreal, which performs up to 1,000 abortions on women per year, sent a letter to provincial officials complaining of the change, because it cannot afford the $25,000 it would cost to upgrade its facilities. If the law doesn't change, The Alternative Clinic will be closing its doors Sept . 30, the day the law takes effect.
Health care workers fear the closure of this and potentially more private clinics could stress the already strained public system, where women currently have to wait three to four weeks for an abortion.
"If one clinic closes it means that women will have to wait longer to have appointments. The more you wait the more it can become complicated," said Nadia Jenois of the Montreal Women's Health Centre.
While employees at the private-run clinic say they would welcome the new law for procedures such as cosmetic surgery or joint replacements, they say it doesn't make sense for a procedure as uncomplicated as early-term abortion.
"There hasn't been any study that shows there was a problem with the security or quality of services delivered, so we're really wondering why the government now is trying to impose new restrictions," said Nathalie Parent of the Planned Parenthood Federation of Quebec.
As many as 50 more clinics in the province are affected by the change.
About 20 percent of the 27,000 abortions performed in Quebec each year take place in a private clinic, said Parent.
