Australia – Roe vs Wade: The extraterritorial dimension of abortion politics

Anti-choice views have shaped US – and Australian – bids to block support for family planning in developing countries.

TANIA PENOVIC

Published 31 May 2022

The leaked draft majority opinion of the US Supreme Court in Dobbs vs Jackson
Women’s Health Organisation has signalled the likely overturning of Roe vs Wade
and intensified the politicisation of abortion in the United States in the
lead-up to November’s mid-term elections.

Much has been written about the politicisation of abortion in the United States
and its consequences for access to reproductive healthcare. The entrenchment of
the anti-choice standpoint in the Republican party has undermined access to
healthcare in the United States. Such attitudes have also shaped US foreign
policy, with impacts on abortion access in developing countries.

Continued: https://www.lowyinstitute.org/the-interpreter/roe-vs-wade-extraterritorial-dimension-abortion-politics


Telehealth has improved abortion access for women around Australia. We can’t let it lapse

A dearth of political leadership means abortion drugs remain inaccessible, unsafe and unaffordable for many women

Gina Rushton
Published on Tue 14 Jul 2020

It has been 24 years since the federal government chose the partial privatisation of Telstra over the rights of Australian women to safely terminate a pregnancy with abortion drugs. In 1996, anti-abortion independent Brian Harradine, who held the balance of power in the Senate, agreed to support John Howard’s one-third float of the telecommunications company if the government amended legislation to give the health minister veto to prohibit the import, manufacture or use of abortion drug RU486 (mifepristone).

A perpetual dearth of political leadership in the subsequent quarter century has meant the drugs remain inaccessible, unaffordable and at times unsafe for many women in Australia outside of a certain income or major city.

Continued: https://www.theguardian.com/world/commentisfree/2020/jul/15/abortion-drugs-remain-inaccessible-unsafe-and-unaffordable-for-many-australian-women