She traveled 900 km for the abortion. Years later, Quebec access issues remain urgent

Rose Gervais was approximately 12 weeks pregnant with her third child in 2023 when she was told that the fetus did not have a brain and that the pregnancy was no longer viable.

It was clear that Gaspé, Que. The mother will need to travel for an abortion as she has passed the 12-week milestone. It was too late to get a surgical abortion in the city and it was inappropriate for her to opt for a medical abortion by taking the pill.

Gervais and her partner had their eyes set on completing the surgical procedure as quickly as possible at the nearest facility in Quebec City – where they could also be seen by a geneticist, as they both wanted to have a third child.

“The delay was really, really long,” Gervais said.

“I was still struggling with nausea and fatigue because the baby’s heart was still beating. So, I had all the symptoms of a normal pregnancy.”

At that time, due to delays in Quebec City, she decided to skip the genetic testing and instead travel to Montreal with her partner for the procedure.

She took time off work, her mother moved in with her two young children and her partner booked her airfare – out of his own pocket – to support her.

“While we were dealing with perinatal grief, it was very difficult to manage,” said Gervais, who has since welcomed another child.

“These are huge difficulties, and we are often left completely alone in them. So, it is important to bring this to light as well, to raise awareness.”

Experts and doctors say their experience points to a larger issue that remains an urgent problem in the province.

Quebec City is often the closest point of service for regional patients entering their second trimester – after 12 or 13-weeks term – who require a surgical abortion.

But delays in getting appointments, combined with limited capacity, means some patients are having to travel further afield to seek help in Montreal.

Doctor told hospital, ‘Can’t help any more’

Dr. Mathieu Bélanger works at the Saint-François d’Assis hospital – the only place in Quebec City to offer surgical abortion for post-pregnancy patients.

He is one of the advocates trying to streamline access in the province and highlight gaps in service, including proposing flexible appointment schedules to prevent patients from having to come in for multiple appointments on different days.

“It’s extremely frustrating for any type of health care provider to not be able to take care of someone because the structure behind (them) doesn’t support you well,” Belanger said.

“We’ve heard that women try to call…they’re getting appointments that are too far away for them.”

Bélanger, who is from Bellechasse, Que., just across the river from Quebec City, knew there were problems in the province’s capital after returning from working for a year in Montreal.

During that time, he regularly saw patients who traveled from Quebec City or further afield for abortions. He told them that the hospital in Quebec City did not return his calls.

He did not like this.

He says the Quebec City hospital does not know wait times for abortions and lacks information about how many phone calls and requests come in but go unanswered at reception.

“They don’t know the situation or they don’t want to know the situation,” he said.

Belanger wanted to know why, but he says his hospital didn’t give him a clear answer.

“I got some answers like we don’t have enough beds… we can’t hire more people,” he said.

“So the answer is always, ‘No, it’s not because of us. It’s because of the structure. We can’t give any more. We can’t support any more.'”

In a statement emailed to CBC News, the CHU de Québec-Université Laval hospital network, which oversees Saint-François d’Assise hospital, says it offers about 50 pre-consultation slots per week and 28 to 32 intervention slots for surgical abortions, depending on availability.

Additional slots may be added depending on demand, a spokesperson for the hospital network wrote.

As of April 1, 2026, depending on the number of weeks of pregnancy, there was a wait of approximately three business days for a pre-consultation appointment at a hospital and then an additional two to three business days for a surgical abortion service.

The hospital did not respond to Gervais’ story, nor did it respond when asked whether more hospitals should offer surgical abortion in Quebec City.

Access problem ‘makes no sense’

Quebec City has become notorious for long wait times for abortions and delays in getting appointments, says Dr. Genevieve Bois, a family physician who performs procedural and medical abortions in Montreal.

Like Belanger’s experience, Bois says there are days when she looks at a list of patients’ postal codes and discovers no one actually lives on the Island of Montreal.

While Quebec has what Bois calls “generally excellent abortion access,” there are still plenty of issues within the province.

“It can’t be, ‘Oh, you can get a medical abortion very easily tomorrow and a surgical abortion will be 300 kilometers away.’ (Some) Weeks,” Boice said.

“It doesn’t make any sense.”

Boice says a better system is needed to ensure a minimum level of service.

He has stepped in to replace providers during sick leave, vacation or parental leave across the province, but he says it’s an informal system and requires flexibility. He is among those advocating minimum standards in the region that could guarantee Quebecers an appointment within a certain number of days in each region.

“Because there is no minimum standard right now,” Boice said.

“It’s easy to say that Quebec is the most pro-choice jurisdiction in the world, and that’s true and access is much better than many places, but it’s certainly not a solved issue.”

Access to the abortion pill vs. surgery

The barriers women like Gervais face are frustrating, says Sylvie Pedneault, general manager of SOS Grosse in Quebec City, a community organization that provides a variety of services, including access to medical abortion.

By 2024, the Quebec government issued a Action Plan for Abortion Access and committed to a permanent funding increase for pro-choice groups, including SOS Grosse.

There are an average of 52 appointments in the organization every month.

But Pedneault says there is a need for more service points in the provincial capital for surgical abortions, given the number of cases coming from neighboring areas.

“We find it appalling that access cannot be simplified,” Pedneault said.

“Some people want to terminate a pregnancy through medication, but waiting means they won’t have access and have to do it surgically.”

Jess Legault says advocates’ concern is that the government is increasing investment and resources for medical abortion – the pill – which is much less expensive on the health care system, while gaps remain in the professionals and medical locations needed to perform surgical abortions.

Legault, general coordinator of the Quebec Family Planning Group, says the expansion of the abortion pill should not come at the expense of procedural abortion access.

“That’s the kind of red flag we’re waving,” he said.

“Our concern is that the government will look at checks and balances and say, ‘Oh OK, one method is much less expensive. We’re going to pursue that method.'”

In an email statement, a representative of Quebec’s health ministry called access to abortion a “priority” and said the ministry is committed to ensuring that anyone who wants an abortion gets access as quickly as possible.

But it says “efforts must continue.”

It referenced its 2024-27 action plan on abortion access which supports the operationalization of health centers and the development of new service points.

Still, years after Gervais’s experience in 2023, she says she’s saddened to hear that access to abortion can still be difficult — especially for women in areas of Quebec.

She remembers the pain of terminating her pregnancy and the mental anguish and fatigue of doing so away from home.

“These are huge difficulties and we often have to face them alone,” he said.

“Add all the administrative management and financial stress. It’s not normal to go through the grieving process while dealing with all of this.”