Charter challenge - we won - you can't hide abortion information

The Judge ruled in our favour. See judgement here:
https://drive.google.com/file/d/0B_QDsYLWnwO6ODBUTGM3d1liNG8/view?usp=sharing

We were successful and the portion of the law excluding abortion-related information was struck down.

Clinic/physician office and hospital abortions performed in Ontario for 2014/2015

Well I finally received the abortion statistics I had asked for from Health Minister Eric Hoskins. Here they are:
https://drive.google.com/file/d/0B_QDsYLWnwO6QWs1NzAwY1NGWTg/view?usp=sharing

The chart includes (direct) costs. These amounts are what the doctor bills OHIP for, but there are other costs associated with abortions.

The numbers are broken down by Hospital (18,491 abortions) and Clinic/Physician Office (27,082 abortions).

Notes from the table:

1) The figures provided are limited to the fee codes for abortions in Ontario for fiscal year 2014-2015 based on the following codes:

a. A920A - MEDICAL MANAGEMENT OF EARLY PREGNANCY - INITIAL VISIT

b. P001A - MEDICAL MGMT FETAL DEMISE BETWEEN 14-20 WKS GESTATION

c. S752A - FEM.GENITAL SYST.-INDUCED-CURRETINTRA-AMNIOTIC INJ.(COMP.)

d. S785A - FEM.GENITAL SYST.-INDUCED-INTRA-AMNIOTIC INJ. (INCOMP.)

e. P054A - FETAL MANAGEMENT-SGL/MULT-INTRACARDIAC KCL INJECTION

f. S770A - CORPUS UTERI-HYSTEROTOMY.

g. S783A - CORPUS UTERI-HYSTEROTOMY WITH TUBAL INTERRUPTION.

Note: S770A and S783A may be claimed for purposes other than Therapeutic Abortion

2) 2014 Abortion Number of Services based on the list of codes above = 45,573

(Note that I originally reported 45,471 abortion which is the number the Ministry gave me in court. I assumed the difference (102) must be because of codes S770A and S783A as noted above, but when you look at the chart, there were only a total of 24 procedures done under these two codes, so that's not it. I will try and get an answer from the Ministry of Health--no easy task.)

3) 2014 Abortion Fee Billed based on the list of codes above = $5,690,931.99

4) Service Location - Hospital Services: report the services that based on the claims submission were rendered in a hospital setting.

5) Service Location - Physician Office (PHY): report the that based on the claim submissions were rendered in non-hospital settings (Clinics/Physician offices) 

Sources:

a) Claims History Database: billing data Data for Fiscal Years 2014/15 is M7 data (complete data.) 

b) Schedule of Benefits Physician Services under the Health Insurance Act, Ministry of Health and Long Term Care

Dr. Eric Hoskins - fifth request for abortion information

Dear Dr. Hoskins,

It has now been two months since I first started asking you for abortion information outside of FIPPA. I've already made four requests for this information (my last request was actually number three, not two as I stated). 

And I still haven't heard back from you.

I was assured by your lawyer Dan Guttman, in front of a judge in the Superior Court of Justice of Ontario, that I only needed to ask for this information and I would receive it:

"today we are saying publicly both in our factum and in court here today before you that if we are asked, our position will if we are asked, we will give generalized abortion statistics out."

Yet I still find myself having to ask you for information that the judge was assured would be provided for the asking. And still I haven't heard back from you.

Remember your Open Government initiative?

"Ontario’s Open Government Initiative is about creating a more open and transparent government for the people of Ontario. We are aiming to make Ontario the most open and transparent jurisdiction in Canada by creating increased opportunities for civic dialogue, sharing government data, and providing citizens with the information they need to better understand how their government works." 

Were these just empty words?

Will you please let me know when I can expect to receive this information? 

Sincerely,

Patricia Maloney

Request for abortion information (10 weeks and counting)

April 17, 2017

Dear Dr. Eric Hoskins,

I have now sent you two requests asking for abortion information for 2014/2015, on Feb 2, 2017 and on March 24 2017.

That's more than 10 (ten) weeks ago.

I still haven't heard back from you. Can you please tell me when I can expect an answer?

Sincerely,

Patricia Maloney

Ont. Gov't still has no conscience protection in Bill 84

Dear Dr. Hoskins,

On April 2, 2017 you are quoted in the Globe and Mail as saying:

“Many of these same people, when they express their concern, they ask us to implement what’s sort of being referred to as the Alberta model...We are implementing the Alberta model.”

I understand that this is NOT the case. The Alberta model does not require any physician involvement – it does not require an effective referral, and the model is entirely patient accessed.

The College of Physicians and Surgeons of Ontario still requires an effective referral from doctors if requested by a patient – even though a care coordination service has been created.

Many Members of Provincial Parliament and Ministers have been confused by this statement and are now under the incorrect impression that an effective referral is no longer needed with the model the government has implemented.

To protect conscientiously objecting doctors and health care providers here in Ontario we must implement a conscience amendment in Bill 84.

Can you please ensure that proper a conscience clause is inserted into Bill 84?

Thank you.

Sincerely,

Patricia Maloney

cc Nathalie Des Rosiers

Kathleen Wynne

Gov't still not addressing "duty to refer" clause in Bill 84

After complaining to our MPP Nathalie Desrosiers about the "duty to refer" clause as it relates to Medical Assistance in Dying (MAID), a group of us received a response.

Nathalie does not respond to our "duty to refer" concern.

I responded to her with this letter:

Dear Nathalie,

Thanks very much for your email reply to us. 

However I notice that you did not specifically address our very important concern regarding "duty to refer" as it relates to MAID. 

Can you please do so? 

This is a very important issue for all of us. It is also a very important for the doctors whose entire livelihood, and the livelihood of their families, depend on in that they do not want to be forced refer patients to be killed through MAID. 

If they are forced to "refer" patients, many good doctors will leave the profession. This is not what the citizens of Ontario want or need. 

As well, if we are assured of this provision being safeguarded, it also gives us the peace of mind that when we go to a hospital or doctor, that there WILL be doctors who are NOT participating in MAID, and we can feel safe and secure in that knowledge that, we will not be encouraged to prematurely end our lives by killing ourselves. 

We look forward to hearing back from you at your earliest convenience. 

Sincerely,
Patricia Maloney 

cc Kathleen Wynne
Dr. Eric Hoskins Minister of Health and Long Term Care

Reported abortions in Canada are up

CIHI total reported abortions numbers are up in Canada. I say "reported" because we know what is reported, is under reported.

In fact hospital abortions are down while reported clinic abortions are up by about 30%.

And I still haven't heard back from Health Minister Eric Hoskins yet where I asked him for the total number of abortions broken down by hospitals, clinics and doctor's offices. What's he waiting for, the cows to come home?

The truth, the whole truth, and nothing but the truth

Dear Dr. Eric Hoskins, Minister of Health and Long Term Care of Ontario

On Feb 1 2017 in a court of law (Ontario Superior Court of Justice), on behalf of your government (Ontario), in front of a judge (Judge Marc Labrosse), your lawyer (Dan Guttman) said: 

"  ...if there is an exclusion [as there currently is with abortion information] you are entitled to ask government and when you ask government for that information, the government has to weigh the decision just like in any other decision...you make the request and if the request is denied you have the decision by the court. And we are saying we are going to give out this information."

On Feb 2, 2017, I asked you for abortion information as described by your lawyer above. Not only have I still not heard back from you, but I haven't even received an acknowledgement letter.

Surely you intend to honour your lawyer's commitment to send me this information, right? Surely we can trust that what he said was the truth? 

You know when I was cross examined by this same lawyer, a representative of your government, I had to swear to tell the truth. On a Bible. I took that oath very seriously.

I don't know, but surely I can expect the same kind of truth from your very own representative Dr. Hoskins? In a court of law? In front of a judge? Don't you think?

I look forward  hearing back from you soon, along with the abortion information I requested from you.

Sincerely,
Patricia Maloney