Abortion is now legal across Australia – but it’s still hard to access. Doctors are both the problem and the solution

December 5, 2023
Barbara Baird, Associate Professor, College of Humanities, Arts and Social Sciences, Flinders University

Abortion is now fully legal in every jurisdiction in Australia. Western Australia became the last state to decriminalise it just two months ago, in September 2023. And the Australian population is solidly pro-choice: a 2021 study found 76% of Australians support access to abortion.

Yet access to abortion care here has been described as a “lottery” in a 2023 Senate inquiry report. My research into abortion provision in Australia over the past 30 years doesn’t describe chance, but an inadequate system.

Continued: https://theconversation.com/abortion-is-now-legal-across-australia-but-its-still-hard-to-access-doctors-are-both-the-problem-and-the-solution-216278


LNP senator and Broncos chairman back Queensland anti-abortion campaign containing ‘baseless’ claims

Exclusive: claims made in campaign material by rightwing lobby group Cherish Life about abortion laws are labelled ‘disinformation’

Ben Smee
Fri 16 Oct 2020

The Liberal National party senator Gerard Rennick and the Brisbane Broncos chairman, Karl Morris, are among the financial backers of a prominent anti-abortion “disinformation” campaign targeting marginal seats ahead of the Queensland election.

Billboards, leaflets and advertisements authorised by the lobby group, Cherish Life, include provocative statements about Queensland’s abortion laws that have repeatedly been found to be baseless.

Continued: https://www.theguardian.com/australia-news/2020/oct/16/lnp-senator-and-broncos-chairman-back-queensland-anti-abortion-campaign-containing-baseless-claims


Queensland election: LNP tries to keep anti-abortion push out of sight

Deb Frecklington seeks broad support in a state that backs abortion rights, but some LNP MPs and poll candidates are pressing for a more divisive approach

Ben Smee
Fri 16 Oct 2020

At a campaign stop this week, the Queensland opposition leader, Deb Frecklington, was asked about the Liberal National party’s policy to review the state’s abortion laws. She quickly changed the subject.

“I haven’t got the details of that yet, it’s not a priority,” Frecklington said.

Continued: https://www.theguardian.com/australia-news/2020/oct/17/why-queenslands-opposition-leader-wants-partys-anti-abortion-push-kept-out-of-election-sight