Thank you, Mr. Speaker. I am perhaps one individual that will never experience that procedure. I do know from my days in social work that it is a traumatic experience under any conditions; whether it is something that a person chooses or something that is forced upon them through circumstances. I am very concerned that people may believe that we perform surgical procedures without anesthetic, and I want to assure the public that this is not the case. I also want to assure the Member that the information that I have, and my personal experience as a social worker, is that counselling does take place. Patients are informed of a procedure, how it is going to be done, and what precedes it.
I have only been through a couple of operations in my life, and I have been told before hand what to expect; and I would assume from what I know, and from what I have heard and what I have been advised, that this does occur or is supposed to occur. If the advice that I am told is supposed to be given to patients prior to an abortion is not being given, 1, as well as Members of this House, want to know that there have been some shortcomings. This is why I have asked the Stanton Yellowknife Hospital Board to look into this matter, to see that the procedures are in keeping with what is outlined and ensure that the public is left confident that the procedures that we do here are the best that we can provide and that they are in keeping with the standards that have been set by the medical profession for all areas. And if this is not happening, then I want to know about it so I can inform the public that we have looked into it and taken those things into consideration and rectified a shortcoming, if it has happened.