Victoria legalised abortion 10 years ago – what will it take in NSW and Queensland?

Victoria legalised abortion 10 years ago – what will it take in NSW and Queensland?
A decade on, Victoria still doesn’t have enough publicly provided, accessible abortion services

Kathleen Maltzahn
Tue 9 Oct 2018

It took more than 40 years of feminist activism, three days and nights of parliamentary debate and hours-long speeches by religious right MPs railing against decriminalisation for abortion in Victoria to be taken out of the crimes act. Ten years on, this is still a powerful victory. Victoria is one of only three Australian jurisdictions where abortion is legal, despite strong community support. Given recent failures to decriminalise in Queensland and New South Wales, Victoria’s success is a reminder that change is possible.

Continued: https://www.theguardian.com/world/commentisfree/2018/oct/09/victoria-legalised-abortion-10-years-ago-what-will-it-take-in-nsw-and-queensland

Explainer: what are abortion clinic safe-access zones and where do they exist in Australia?

Explainer: what are abortion clinic safe-access zones and where do they exist in Australia?

June 14, 2018
Tania Penovic

New South Wales recently became the fifth Australian jurisdiction to enact legislation that establishes safe-access zones around abortion clinics.

The legislation is a response to picketing of clinics by anti-abortion protesters for more than two decades. These protesters characterise themselves as “sidewalk counsellors” but their conduct has included verbal abuse, threats, impeding entry to clinics, displaying violent imagery and acts of “disturbing theatre” such as pushing a blood-splattered doll in a pram.

Safe-access zones are sometimes called bubble zones because they create a bubble around an abortion clinic in which certain conduct is prohibited. NSW will now impose safe-access zones of 150 metres around clinics that provide abortions.

Continued: https://theconversation.com/explainer-what-are-abortion-clinic-safe-access-zones-and-where-do-they-exist-in-australia-98175

Australia – Lucky we Victorian women already had this sorted … right?

Lucky we Victorian women already had this sorted ... right?

By Miki Perkins
10 June 2018

What a fierce lot these Irish women are. It was stirring to see them stride through airports, suitcases in tow, flocking home to vote.

And what a relief to see their country shrug off the weight of history and vote decisively for women’s reproductive rights.

Whew, lucky we Victorian women already had this sorted, right?

Continued: https://www.theage.com.au/national/victoria/lucky-we-victorian-women-already-had-this-sorted-right-20180608-p4zkbi.html

Is abortion legal in Australia? It’s complicated

Is abortion legal in Australia? It's complicated

By health reporter Olivia Willis
May 25, 2018

Ireland has just voted on whether to lift the country's controversial ban on abortion.

But in Australia, whether or not abortion is legal depends on where you live — as does the cost and availability of the procedure.

And that's because abortion laws are made by state and territory governments, not the Federal Government.

Continued: http://www.abc.net.au/news/health/2018-05-26/is-abortion-legal-in-australia/9795188