Officials in British Columbia are as good as abandoning women in desperate need of health care. Five health clinics in BC are scheduled to close at the end of this month.

Canada's nurses warn that these closures will mean a loss of care, especially to the poor and disenfranchised. Women in need of cancer-preventing pap smears and young people who need STI screenings will be left without any form of help.  

The clinics, located in Kamloops, Kelowna, Penticton, Grand Forks, and Cranbrook, saw hundreds of people a year, including women who do not have a family doctor.

The Winnipeg Free Press even predicts that the clinic closings will accelerate the spread of sexual infections. And this comes at a time when sexually-transmitted infections are on the rise in the province. 

This is not just irresponsible; it is plain unethical. Tell Canada's health authority to keep the British Columbia clinics open!

We the undersigned urge you not to close affordable health clinics in Kamloops, Kelowna, Penticton, Grand Forks, and Cranbrook. According to your country's own nurses, these clinics are critical to the welfare of hundreds of women who need pelvic exams and pap smears, but do not have a family doctor. The confidential services offered at these clinics also encouraged those with sexually-transmitted infections to get diagnosed and treated rather than ignoring symptoms and infecting others. 
Don't disenfranchise the poor and infected. Keep your clinics open.