Yukon

Funding for the Opal Clinic

The Opal Clinic, the only abortion clinic in Yukon, does not receive dedicated funding from the Yukon Government for its overhead costs. Instead, some coverage for its overhead costs comes from the Yukon Sexual Health Clinic, which has a contract with and runs out of a family medicine clinic. The lack of stable, dedicated funding for the Opal Clinic is an issue that doctors have raised, and that advocates in Yukon are working to address. 

Under the Care Consent Act, every person, including minors, who is capable may give or refuse consent to care. A person’s capability to give or refuse consent to care is determined by the health care provider, and includes whether the person can understand the information that is relevant to making a decision concerning the treatment, understand that the information applies to their particular situation, understand that the patient has the right to make a decision, and appreciate the reasonably foreseeable consequences of a decision or lack of a decision.

There is no bubble zone legislation in Yukon. However, federal Bill C-3, which makes it illegal to intimidate healthcare workers and patients or obstruct them from providing care or seeking treatment at locations where healthcare services—including abortions—are delivered, applies.

Physicians

Physicians in the Yukon must adhere to the Canadian Medical Association's standards of practice, and must also follow the standards of practice set out by the Yukon Medical Council. The Council has a Standard of Practice called Moral or Religious Beliefs Affecting Medical Care, which requires physicians to ensure patients are offered “timely access to another physician or resource that will provide accurate information about all available medical options” in cases of belief-based care denial. However, information is not the same as medical care, which means that physicians can choose not to refer a patient to a provider who can deliver the care they need.

The Standard of Practice also states that:

• A physician must communicate clearly and promptly about any treatments or procedures the physician chooses not to provide because of his or her moral or religious beliefs. 
• A physician must not withhold information about the existence of a procedure or treatment because providing that procedure or giving advice about it conflicts with their moral or religious beliefs. 
• A physician must not promote their own moral or religious beliefs when interacting with patients.

Nurse practitioners

The Yukon Registered Nurses Association adopts the Canadian Nurses Association’s Code of Ethics for Registered Nurses, which states that in cases of conscientious objection, nurses are obligated to notify their employers or the patient receiving care in advance so that alternative arrangements can be made.

In some instances, patients may have to travel outside of the country to receive abortion care currently not available in Canada.

According to the Travel for Medical Treatment Regulations, Yukon’s Chief Medical Officer may approve medical travel to a centre other than Calgary, Edmonton, or Vancouver, where “he or she is of the opinion that the patient’s condition and availability of services are such that the travel is medically necessary.” However, the Regulation to amend the Travel for Medical Treatment Regulations (2020) states that “the Chief Medical Officer may not approve medical travel to a place outside Canada.”

The Yukon Health Care Insurance Plan (YHCIP) includes a Medical Travel Program for patients who need to travel outside of Yukon to receive medically necessary treatment not available in their community. 

Applications for medical travel must be certified by a Yukon doctor or community health nurse and approved by the Medical Travel Program in order for the patient to be eligible for coverage.

Travel support

The Medical Travel Program includes subsidies for some patient travel expenses. Under the Travel for Mifegymiso Policy, transportation subsidies are available for patients insured under the Yukon Health Care Insurance Plan Act who need to travel out of their home community but within Yukon to access medical abortion. Physician services for medical abortion in Yukon are available in Whitehorse, Haines Junction, Dawson City, and Watson Lake.

Under the Travel for Mifegymiso Policy, transportation is subsidized in accordance with the In-Territory Transportation Policy, which sets the mileage reimbursement rate for each region. These rates are limited and may not cover the full cost of transportation. If bus travel is available and reasonable, the patient will receive a reimbursement equal to the cost of return bus fare.

A patient must fill out the Medical Travel Subsidy Form in order to receive subsidies under the In-Territory Transportation Policy. No other applications or prior approval is required, but any travel escorts accompanying the patient must be pre-approved by the Medical Travel Unit in order for the escort to receive coverage as per the Medical Travel Escorts Policy.

For surgical abortion in Yukon or abortion care outside of Yukon, an authorized practitioner must submit a Medical Travel Application form on behalf of the patient (and requests an escort if applicable) for review by the Medical Officer of Health in order for a patient to be eligible for travel expense subsidies. The patient must then submit a completed Medical Travel Subsidy Form within one calendar year in order to receive reimbursement. 

If approved, a patient will be eligible for the following travel expense support:

• A mileage reimbursement at the rate of 30 cents per kilometre
• Bus reimbursement limited to the cost of return bus fare
• Coverage for airfare if car and bus travel isn’t available, with the subsidy limited to the cost of scheduled return air fare
• A travel subsidy of $78 for same day travel
• A $155 travel subsidy starting on the first day (up to 16 days) for any overnight or outpatient stays, and a travel subsidy of $78 per day for any approved escorts
• A travel subsidy of $155 per day for any approved escorts if the patient is admitted to a facility as an inpatient