After decades of struggle, abortion was finally decriminalised in every state and territory in Australia last year, although the procedure remains in the criminal codes in some states and access can be difficult.
We have to remain vigilant as recent moves by the Liberal, National and Katter party politicians shows this basic right to bodily autonomy is being challenged by the right.
South Australian (SA) Liberal MP Ben Hood’s anti-abortion bill lost by one vote in the Legislative Council in October. The Greens support abortion rights, but Labor and the Liberals allowed their MPs a “conscience” vote.
SA changed its law in 2021 to allow for late-term abortions, if two doctors deem it medically necessary.
Hood wanted to place limits on late-term abortions, requiring people to be induced after 27 weeks and six days, and to put their babies up for adoption. He wanted to force people to give birth, against their will, and force doctors to become collaborators.
If the bill had been adopted, it would have been a cruel move with disastrous outcomes, especially for those born into poverty, domestic violence or for those who simply did not want to be pregnant and give birth.
According to the SA Abortion Reporting Committee, there were 47 late-term terminations last year, of which 78.7% were done because of the risk to the physical or mental health of the pregnant person, and 21.3% because of suspected foetal anomalies.
Avowed “pro-lifer”, Robbie Katter MP from Katter’s Australian Party, suddenly announced before the Queensland election he would support the same sort of amendment to that state’s laws. He also said he would be open to repealing them altogether.
Terminations up to 22 weeks’ gestation are permitted in Queensland. After that, two doctors have to agree on the procedure.
Jacinta Nampijinpa Price, a Country Liberal Party senator, is keen on stopping late-term abortions, something she described as “infanticide”. But not all Liberal and National Party MPs agree, as they know there is broad support for the right to choose.
Sussan Ley, Jane Hume and Bridget McKenzie, senior members of the Liberal and National parties, are among those who are not keen to wind the clock back. Hume said the Coalition has “no plans, no policy and no interest in unwinding women’s reproductive rights”.
Medical data shows that just under 1% of all terminations are late-term. They are carried out for late-diagnosed major foetal abnormalities, severe growth restrictions or where medical professionals believe that continuing the pregnancy would severely harm the mother’s mental or physical health.
‘Unspoken’ ban
However, major restrictions on the right to access abortion, especially in rural and regional Australia, remain, with some doctors describing this as an “unspoken ban”.
An ABC investigation on October 30 found systemic failures and outright obstruction for those seeking to access terminations, especially in NSW where only two public hospitals offer formal termination services. Queanbeyan District Hospital and Orange Hospital were sending women to private providers or family planning clinics.
NSW Greens MLC Dr Amanda Cohn told parliament in May last year that abortion access in the regions was a “known problem”.
She said the Royal Australian College of Obstetricians and Gynaecologists believe that “access to abortion should be on the basis of health care need and should not be limited by age, socioeconomic disadvantage or geographic isolation”.
Women’s Health Victoria’s Realising access: Abortion and contraception inequities and enablers in Victoria report, released on October 24, shows major inequities in abortion access, which disproportionally affect regional communities.
Realising access shows that people from disadvantaged communities in Victoria are more likely to seek abortions after nine weeks, which drastically narrows their healthcare options. It revealed the many continued barriers Victorians face in accessing timely sexual and reproductive health services.
In Victoria, 67% of local government areas have no surgical abortion providers, 39% have no medication abortion dispensing pharmacies and 19% had no medication abortion prescribers — a situation that would be replicated in most regional and rural areas.
It said those seeking late-term abortions in regional areas often do so because they have had to wait three to four weeks for an appointment with their doctor. Many regional hospitals will not perform terminations, adding to the wait time.
Women’s Health Victoria CEO Sally Hasler said, in these circumstances, it is not a coincidence that there is greater demand for abortion after nine weeks. It comes down to a lack of choice women face in under-resourced communities. It starts with their lack of access to contraception and goes all the way through to their right to choose if, when and how to have an abortion.
Regardless of the reasons people seek an abortion, early or late, it must be their choice. Polls show that about 80% of people agree.
End conscience vote
Labor purports to support the right to choose, but gives its MPs a “conscience vote”. This is dishonest and, in practice, means allowing someone’s conscience to override a person’s right to access a health procedure (often in consultation with a medical professional).
Abortion is the only medical procedure that has been criminalised. It is also the only procedure that doctors and other health professionals can be excused from providing.
While in Australia the tide has been to liberalise the law, as the United States has shown, and now here, conservatives will seize on any opportunity to take our reproductive freedoms away.
We need to be vigilant. Right now, with Labor in power federally and in a majority of states, we must ensure abortion access is expanded, especially to disadvantaged communities, including in rural and regional areas.
Real equality would mean all public hospitals provide the service and the procedure is free. For those measures, of course, we know we will have to organise to fight for our rights.
[Mary Merkenich is long-term feminist and a member of the Socialist Alliance.]