FREDERICTON - The New Brunswick government is appealing a court decision that gives Dr. Henry Morgentaler the right to represent women in a challenge of the province's restrictions on abortion funding.
In court this morning, Nancy Forbes -- a lawyer for the province -- said a lower court judge erred by giving the well-known abortionist "public-interest standing".
Forbes says there is no provision in New Brunswick's court rules for that, when it is sought prior to a trial.
She says it would be more appropriate for a woman who has sought an abortion to seek standing, but the Appeal Court judges said that would raise issues concerning the privacy of medical records.
For years Morgentaler has been trying to get the province to pay for abortions at his Fredericton clinic.
The province will only pay for abortions that are approved by two doctors and done at an approved hospital.
