Winnipeg Free Press

Winnipeg Free Press (Newspaper) - July 31, 2015, Winnipeg, Manitoba C M Y K PAGE A5 winnipegfreepress. com TOP NEWS WINNIPEG FREE PRESS, FRIDAY, JULY 31, 2015 A 5 Date: Saturday, August 1 Larry's Guest: Big Daddy Tazz He not only is a very talented Comic, he enlightens, educates and inspires audiences. CALL OUR SALES HOTLINE TODAY! 1- 888- 714- 9110 murraychevrolet. ca | 1700 WAVERLEY STREET, WAVERLEY AUTOMALL AT BISHOP GRANDIN Dealer Permit # 84271 Representative Transaction: Advertsed Price $ 20,000 includes freight and fees, plus taxes ($ 2600) = $ 22,600. Financed at 2.99% for 60 Months = B/ W. Cost of Credit $ 1776.30 Dealer Permit # 84271 SHOP ALL CLEARANCE VEHICLES ONLINE! To learn more about the deals visit us at murraychevrolet. ca H EALTH Canada's approval of the abortion drugs RU- 486 is good news for women in Manitoba - especially those in remote communities - the provincial government and Women's Health Clinic say. " We will be looking for the best way to provide this option to women and ensure access to safe abortion services across the province including rural and northern areas," said provincial government spokesman Andrew Tod. The Women's Health Clinic in Winnipeg says it's ready to work with the province on ways of doing that. " It is good news for women," said Leigh Anne Caron, health services manager at the feminist clinic, an accredited member of the National Abortion Federation. " It's better for some women who need to travel far distances," said Caron. A medical abortion doesn't have to be performed in a surgical setting, she said. " For women in isolated communities it is much better if someone in the community or close by is able to prescribe medication and follow up with them," said Caron. " For them, it's definitely better than the surgical procedure." Having access to the abortion medication known as mifegymiso could also provide more confidentiality for women in remote towns and First Nations so they don't have to make travel arrangements through their local health clinic or band office, Caron said. " There are issues in a community that's small or close- knit," she said. " The likelihood they'll have an aunty or cousin working in those areas are high... Word spreads like in any small community." She's heard the drug will be available in 2016 and clinic representatives and the National Abortion Federation will be working with the health- care community to get ready for it by educating practitioners about its use. They're waiting for more information about who will be able to prescribe it and how, she said. " It's not clear if, for nurse practitioners and midwives, it will be available to them to prescribe," said Caron. " There's not enough information yet about how this drug is going to be regulated." In B. C., a clinic in Vancouver is using Skype to provide medical abortions to women in remote locales, she said. " It worked really well for them," said Caron, who believes it could work in Manitoba, too - if doctors working in northern communities are willing and able to offer the medication once it's available. " We already have the infrastructure here for that with Telehealth," she said. " Having access and more options is a good thing," said Caron. But not when it comes to terminating a pregnancy, says abortion opponent Natalie Gauthier. " It's concerning," said the spokeswoman for the group Life's Vision in Winnipeg. " It takes the life of an unborn baby and it's dangerous for women... physically and psychologically," said Gauthier, whose group's mission is " to contribute to the protection of life from the moment of conception to natural death." She said women shouldn't be lulled into believing abortion medication is safe and easier than a surgical abortion. " In fact, it's not. It can take up to a week to work and sometimes it doesn't work and they have to get an abortion anyway. It causes severe cramping, nausea and severe bleeding. It's definitely not easier." Gauthier said she hopes the province won't include it in its pharmacare drug benefit program, but said the organization can't wade in on political issues. The provincial government says it's waiting for more information. Once Health Canada has approved a drug for use in Canada, the country's public drug plans must decide if the drug will be eligible for public reimbursement. The Canadian Agency for Drugs and Technologies in Health conducts a Common Drug Review, which plays an important role in their decision. " In terms of pharmacare coverage, we don't know the price yet. and the timing is not entirely up to us because we don't know yet if ( the) Common Drug Review process will take place," said Tod. " But we don't want to see that process dragged out," said Tod. " It has been a long time coming." carol. sanders@ freepress. mb. ca Abortion drug boon to rural areas Women's Health Clinic applauds move by province By Carol Sanders CALLED mifegymiso, it contains two drugs, mifepristone and misoprostol. It's used to end an early pregnancy ( up to seven weeks since the last menstrual period began). Mifepristone blocks production of the hormone progesterone, needed to sustain a pregnancy. Misoprostol prompts the uterus to contract and expel the placenta and the fetus. Mifegymiso is included in the World Health Organization's list of " essential medicines" - the minimum medicines needed for basic health- care systems, based on criteria such as safety and cost- effectiveness. Adverse events in the U. S. 1.52 million women took the medication from the time it was approved in the U. S. ( September 2011) until April 2011 * Number of adverse events: 2,207, including 14 deaths. Expected side effects Cramping and bleeding - usually it means the treatment is working but sometimes cramping and bleeding occur when the pills haven't worked. As many as eight out of 100 women who take it need a surgical procedure to end the pregnancy or to stop too much bleeding. Sources: U. S. Food and Drug Administration, Women's Health Clinic * These events cannot with certainty be causally attributed to mifepristone because of information gaps about patient health, clinical management of the patient, concurrent drug use and other possible medical or surgical treatments. An ' essential medicine' REMY DE LA MAUVINIERE / THE ASSOCIATED PRESS FILES RU- 486 inventor, Prof. Emile- Etienne Beaulieu, is seen in a 1995 file photo. A_ 05_ Jul- 31- 15_ FP_ 01. indd A5 7/ 30/ 15 7: 18: 38 PM ;