Henry Morgentaler is closing his Halifax, Nova Scotia abortion clinic, 13 years after it opened.

Morgentaler's decision to leave is based upon the fact that women in Nova Scotia can now get appropriate care at Halifax's Victoria General Hospital, said Shayna Hodgson, his spokesperson.

Hodgson said the hospital's standards are on par with the clinic's. The hospital has adopted Morgentaler's method and is using the doctor he personally trained, she said.

The procedure will be covered under provincial health insurance at the hospital.

Hodgson said Morgentaler would never leave the women of Nova Scotia in the lurch and is confident the hospital will provide compassionate and safe care.

Many of the women who used the clinic travelled from Prince Edward Island, where they are unable to obtain abortions, she said.

For Morgentaler, P.E.I. has been a "bee in his bonnet for a while," Hodgson said, as the province has no viable options for women. There are no current plans to expand to the Island but that she would not rule it out.

He has also run into resistance in New Brunswick. Last year, Morgentaler announced he was launching a lawsuit against the province over its refusal to pay for abortions carried out in his private Fredericton clinic.

The doctor took the Tory government to task over what he called its "sexist, male chauvinist and oppressive" attitude toward women and abortion rights.

New Brunswick's government said funding abortions in private clinics would create an unnecessary financial burden. It said medically necessary, medicare-funded abortions are provided at several hospitals in the province.

The province only pays for abortions in the first 12 weeks of pregnancy if they're performed in hospital, and only after the woman has the approval of two doctors.

Morgentaler said the province's position is unconstitutional and violates the Canada Health Act.