Yukon woman shines light on the cracks in abortion access in the territory

A Yukon woman is raising the alarm about the cost and difficulty of accessing abortion medication in the territory.

Jane Doe says she had to seek an abortion through the emergency room, because the Opal clinic — the territory's only dedicated abortion services provider — is only open one day a week, for four hours. 

Jane Doe is a pseudonym. CBC is not disclosing her identity for personal safety reasons.

That day, she says, she was left waiting, watching other patients come and go, until a female doctor was on shift — even though she hadn't asked to be seen by a female doctor.

At the time, Doe was working in a rural community. She'd travelled to Whitehorse on the weekend seeking a medical abortion to end a pregnancy. She says the doctor advised her to go to the Opal Clinic. The receptionist and a nurse had made the same suggestion.  

"So for the third or fourth time that day, I said, 'I can't go to the Opal Clinic. I work full-time out of town. This is my only option,'" she said.

By the time Doe had received a prescription for the abortion pill Mifegymiso, the hospital pharmacy had closed. She had to get back to work the next day, so she went to a different pharmacy downtown. She says the pharmacist told her the abortion pill cost $300. 

"I broke down," said Doe. "I only had $250 in my bank account and I still needed to buy food and gas to get home."

Cabinet communications said the Yukon government offers Mifegymiso to Yukoners at no cost.

But the government acknowledges free pills are only available through the Whitehorse hospital. 

Justine Fair, a physician who specializes in women's health at Whitehorse General, says the walk-in clinic and some private family doctors in town may choose to stock the abortion pill at their clinic. 

"What that means is that someone literally has to bring some of the pills from the hospital and store them at their clinic. But if they write a prescription and tell the patient to go to a pharmacy in town, they're going to be charged," Fair said.

CBC has independently verified the pill costs between $400 and $500 at Whitehorse pharmacies at the time of publication.  

The Yukon government says "medical abortions [are] available to patients at all health centres across the territory."