2 NOVEMBER 2023
By HELEN TOBLER
Australia’s first clinical guidelines outline how to confirm gestational age and abortion completion, as well pain relief and other management.
New clinical guidelines back medical abortions up to 24 weeks of pregnancy, but women’s access may be curtailed by state laws and hospital support.
Continued: https://www.medicalrepublic.com.au/medical-abortions-okayed-for-first-and-second-trimester/101838
John O'Connor | The Guam Daily Post
Oct 30, 2023
Parties opposed to the attorney general's attempt at reviving a decades-old abortion ban on Guam argue that the AG is essentially looking to reset the field at this stage because he failed to lay down specific arguments earlier at a lower court. Additional arguments from the opposition bring up free speech issues imposed by the ban, and comment further that recent changes in the U.S. Supreme Court's position on abortion do nothing to change the unconstitutionality of such provisions.
Guam's abortion ban is found in Public Law 20-134. The ban prohibits abortions at all stages of pregnancy with limited exceptions related to medical intervention and ectopic pregnancies. Victims of rape and incest, for example, are not exempt under the ban unless they meet those limited exceptions. The ban also contains a referendum provision, allowing voters to determine if the ban should stay, but the election date has long passed.
by Bettina Baldeschi, Daile Kelleher and Anu Kumar
10 October 2023
Last month, Western Australia passed landmark reforms removing barriers to accessing abortion, bringing it into line with other states in Australia. While there are still practical barriers to access, particularly for marginalised groups, every state and territory in Australia has now decriminalised abortion, and the National Women’s Health Strategy lays out a framework for universal access by 2030.
Globally, the picture is very different. Half of all pregnancies worldwide are unintended. In Asia and the Pacific there are 140 million women with an unmet need for family planning. 13% of maternal deaths worldwide result from unsafe abortions.
Continued: https://devpolicy.org/australias-support-for-safe-abortion-globally-20231010/
25 Sept 2023
Sustainable Population Australia
In the lead-up to World Contraception Day (WCD) on 26 September, Sustainable Population Australia (SPA) has called for potentially fertile people everywhere to have information about, and access to, a range of contraceptive options so that they can make informed choices on their sexual and reproductive health.
Contraceptive methods include hormonal options like birth control pills, patches, and injections; barrier methods such as condoms and diaphragms; and long-acting reversible contraceptives (LARCs) such as intrauterine devices (IUDs) and implants.
Continued: https://www.miragenews.com/need-for-diverse-contraception-options-for-1090753/
24 Sep 2023
Christian Tym, A Rich Life
Abortion was completely removed from the criminal code in Western Australia this week. This makes it the final one of Australia’s states and territories to fully decriminalise abortion.
It had been an emotional debate in WA, following last month’s intervention from Jackie Jarvis, the state’s Agriculture Minister. Jarvis revealed she underwent an abortion in the early 1990s after being raped, though abortion was still illegal in the state at the time.
Continued: https://arichlife.com.au/abortion-now-fully-decriminalised-in-western-australia/
Landmark reforms to WA's abortion laws pass state parliament
By WA state political reporter Keane Bourke
Sep 20, 2023
Landmark reforms to Western Australia's abortion laws have passed the state's parliament.
The changes were announced in June to streamline access to abortion and bring WA's regulations in line with other states.
Key changes included removing the need for women to be referred for an abortion by a doctor, no longer requiring women undergo mandatory counselling and moving provisions out of WA's criminal code.
Continued: https://www.abc.net.au/news/2023-09-20/reform-wa-abortion-laws-pass-state-parliament/102881738
The RACGP has said a new evidence-based abortion care guideline will support clinicians involved in reproductive healthcare.
Jolyon Attwooll
06 Sep 2023
The RACGP has expressed its support for a draft clinical guideline on abortion care compiled by the Royal Australian and New Zealand College of Obstetricians and Gynaecologists (RANZCOG).
In a response sent to RANZCOG last week, the college said the guideline is detailed and will support GPs involved in reproductive healthcare.
Continued: https://www1.racgp.org.au/newsgp/clinical/racgp-backs-comprehensive-abortion-care-guideline
Both Jennifer and Amy were devastated when their wanted pregnancies were deemed unviable, but they were forced to go elsewhere when Catholic-run public hospitals would not terminate
by Donna Lu
Tue 5 Sep 2023
When Jennifer* fell pregnant for the first time in August 2019, there was no indication that anything was amiss. But the Melbourne-based healthcare worker was given bad news at her 12-week ultrasound scan: her foetus had a severe genetic condition.
“They detected a severe abnormality in the baby, which I already knew was a girl, so I’d already gotten a bit excited about having a daughter,” Jennifer recalls. “They said … essentially you could choose to bring the baby to term and give birth to her but if you do, she’ll be placed into palliative care immediately, so we’re recommending that you strongly consider a medical termination.”
Publicly funded Catholic hospitals across Australia are using the cover of religion to opt out of providing reproductive care – and experts say it has created a ‘postcode lottery’ for access to services
by Donna Lu and Melissa Davey
Mon 21 Aug 2023
When Sarah*, a Melbourne mother, was pregnant with her second child, her GP gave her a surprising warning: if she had any serious complications, concerns about the viability of the pregnancy or believed she might be miscarrying, she should go to the Royal Women’s hospital rather than the Mercy Hospital for Women, where she was planning to deliver the baby.
The reason, the GP told her, was that the Mercy – a public hospital in Melbourne’s north-east – would not assist in terminating a pregnancy due to its Catholic affiliation.
A successful Australian trial of a urine test to detect whether an abortion has worked will be welcomed by rural and remote patients, say clinicians
Natasha May
Wed 16 Aug 2023
A home test that checks whether a drug-induced abortion has worked is not only safe but reduces rates of unnecessary follow-up surgery, an Australian-first study has found.
People who attend clinics to access medication to terminate a pregnancy, known as a medical abortion, usually need to see a doctor 14 days later and may undergo a blood test to examine levels of a hormone known as hCG, along with an ultrasound to rule out complications.
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