Family Planning Victoria

Victoria's Anti-Abortion Doctors Risk Breaking Laws, Study Finds
Doctors who object to abortion stand accused of failing their legal obligations to women seeking termination.

Jessica Leahy
February 1, 2019

Abortion was decriminalised Victoria in 2008 but since then health practitioners have held on to the right to conscientiously object to carrying out abortions so long as they refer women on to a health expert who does not object.

But, according to a University of Melbourne-led study, some of the state’s anti-abortion professionals are breaking the law by subjecting women to tactical delays that flout Section 8 of the Abortion Law Reform Act 2008.

Continued: https://www.whimn.com.au/talk/victorias-antiabortion-doctors-risk-breaking-laws-study-finds/news-story/6ee271bc3d8b8932b7f96504fe9f2cc5

Victorian doctors who object to abortion 'attempting to delay or deny access'
Study reveals failure of legal protections to ensure women’s access to terminations

Melissa Davey
Thu 31 Jan 2019

Victorian doctors who conscientiously object to abortion are breaking the law by failing to refer women on to practitioners who will perform the procedure, leading to some women having abortions later than necessary or having the baby despite wanting a termination.

This was the finding from a study led by associate professor Louise Keogh at the University of Melbourne, who examined whether mandatory referral, introduced in Victoria during abortion law reforms in 2008, was making healthcare more accessible to women.

Continued: https://www.theguardian.com/world/2019/jan/31/victorian-doctors-who-object-to-abortion-attempting-to-delay-or-deny-access

Victoria’s Anti-Abortion Doctors Risk Breaking Laws, Study Finds

Victorian doctors who object to abortion ‘attempting to delay or deny access’