I don't know if they operate at a profit, per se. Only that they are private
clinics (at least in Alberta) that provide a contract service to the public
provider, in this case the regional health authority. If you define "profit"
as revenue over and above operating expenses and salaries, then I assume
they make a profit. My point is that this approach looks very much like the
plan to provide other "surgical services" in private clinics. If we believe
contracting with private abortion clinics to provide a "surgical service,"
why do we not believe this approach will work for other services?

Alana
-----Original Message-----
From: Health Promotion on the Internet [mailto:[log in to unmask]]On
Behalf Of Cathy Crowe
Sent: Wednesday, March 08, 2000 7:38 AM
To: [log in to unmask]
Subject: Re: Canadian Health Care at a Crosswords...


I'm not sure free standing abortion clinics do operate for profit. Can
anyone
tell me? In Ontario anyway, free standing clinics originated from a long
standing grass roots fight for women's right and access to health services.
They
were never meant to be another tier in the health care system, but rather a
more
appropriate delivery point of service - not unlike the potential of free
standing birthing centres, etc. Cathy Crowe