Canadian Civil Liberties Association seeking to sue New Brunswick government on abortion access

Torys litigation partner Andrew Bernstein is representing the Canadian Civil Liberties Association regarding access to abortion in New Brunswick.

The CBC—and Globe and Mail—reported that the CCLA “has the right to sue the New Brunswick government” for lack of access to abortion. However, before that can happen, CBC said that CCLA must prove it has “public-interest standing to bring this issue to court on behalf of anyone affected”.

Andrew believes there is public interest at stake, partly because people who are affected by inadequate abortion access are not always able to bring the issue to court themselves, adding that “socioeconomic reasons, social stigma and the sensitive timelines around abortions and pregnancy are all reasons that may stop someone from taking the matter to court”.

“If [abortion] is not accessible because of unconstitutional regulation, our position is that that's public interest,” he said.