NDP promises to expand women’s health services

Nova Scotia’s NDP aims to improve women’s health care by expanding access to primary health services such as surgical abortions, midwifery and ultrasounds.  

NDP Leader Claudia Chender announced the party’s plans Wednesday morning at The Local Council of Women chapter in Halifax, on the same day the NDP released its election platform.  

Chender said the NDP would address the “critically low” staffing of ultrasound technicians, saying parents are waiting weeks for prenatal ultrasounds.

Chender said an NDP government would collaborate with Dalhousie University to ensure the medical school is training an adequate number of sonographers, as well as increase the pay rate for medical professionals. 

Chender also pledged that the NDP would improve access to surgical abortions across the province.  

“People are driving hours to access critical services, like surgical abortions,” she said. “This is unacceptable. These are unnecessary barriers to health care.”  

Chender criticized current and former Liberal and Conservative governments for their approaches to health care, saying women have been “overlooked” and “underserved” by the provincial government. 

According to the Association of Nova Scotia Midwives, there are 16 funded midwifery positions in the province. Chender says she will “increase and expand midwifery services to ensure that there is a midwife for any Nova Scotian that wants to access that service.” 

She also hopes to train midwives to expand the scope of their practice, allowing them to insert intrauterine devices and prescribe Mifegymiso.

Mifegymiso helps treat missed miscarriages and, in some cases is used as an abortion pill.  

Chender said expanding midwifery services would reduce the strain on the primary care system.  

“Women in this province who are under the care of midwives are much less likely to have a caesarean section,” she said. “[They] are much less likely to visit a hospital at all in the course of their birth if they don’t want to.” 

Chender said the NDP has been a longtime advocate for women’s health care. She says the NDP fought for the recognition of and treatment for endometriosis, fought to protect access to health care without harassment and passed a law recognizing intimate partner violence as an epidemic. 

After the announcement, Chender held a roundtable where women shared their experiences accessing critical health care in the province.

Chender also announced the rest of the NDP’s platform, which includes addressing the housing crisis by implementing 30,000 new affordable rent-to-own homes over four years. She also said the NDP intends to cut the HST on essentials such as groceries, phone and internet bills and heat pumps.  

Chender promised to provide more funding for transit to improve the system across the province. In HRM, that would include expanding access to transit services, funding for the new Bedford ferry route and removing ferry fares to help reduce congestion on the roads.  

All three main parties have made promises on women’s health. The Liberals have promised to name a minister of women’s health, close the gap on women’s health research and increase access to menstrual products. The Progressive Conservatives have promised to create Canada’s first menopause centre of excellence.  

Chender argues these announcements are empty promises aiming to fulfill a political agenda.  

“The truth is that Tim [Houston] is talking about women’s health now because it suits his political agenda,” she said. “The Liberals had eight years to improve healthcare, including access to abortion, and they didn’t.”