Most people in Ontario object to their tax dollars paying for all abortions, with some exceptions. If the Provincial Government were to heed the wishes of most Ontarians, it would save at least $23 million in health care costs, and that’s an extremely conservative figure.

This is not new, but has been confirmed yet again by an Environics Research Group poll conducted for LifeCanada, issued November 2009:

• Nearly two out of 10 (18 per cent) of the people polled said abortions should be a private responsibility, paid for either out-of-pocket or by a private health care plan;
• Nearly half (49 per cent) said abortion should be funded from taxes only in medical emergencies, such as a threat to the mother’s life, or in cases of rape or incest. 

That adds up to two out of three Ontarians saying they do not want to pay for the vast majority of abortions through their taxes.

We’re being forced to pay for something that is profoundly immoral and deeply repugnant to us. As an elective (non-essential) procedure, it’s taking $23.4-million away from other health care services.

 Statistics Canada has reported that, in 2006:

• 17,096 abortions were performed in clinics.
• 16,106 abortions were performed in hospitals.

How much do each of these cost?  The average cost of an early surgical abortion in 2005 was: $500 in a clinic and $1000 in a hospital, according to the Abortion Rights Coalition of Canada (in its Position Paper #2).

How many abortions fit the category of “a threat to the mother’s life or in cases of rape or incest”?  Very few. The Guttmacher Institute, which provides Planned Parenthood with data, reported that for 2004:

• Only four per cent of women who had had abortions said “physical problem with my health” was the most important reason;
• Less than one half of one percent said the most important reason was rape, and fewer than that for incest.

 Note that the health-related reasons were unspecified “physical problems,” not necessarily serious.

 So, we can’t see how many abortions fit the category of “a threat to the mother’s life or in cases of rape or incest” but let’s see what happens when we count only those abortions done for “physical problem with my health, rape or incest”. This shows that, in 2006, of abortions done for reasons other than the health of the mother, or rape or incest:

•  16,241 were in clinics at a cost of $500 each for a total of $8,120,600.
• 15,300 were done in hospitals at a cost of $1000 each for a total of $15,300,000.
• Total cost of abortions for reasons other than health, rape or incest was approximately $23.4 million

 The bottom line is that the Province is spending more than $23.4 million on abortions that two thirds of its citizens don’t want it to spend.