Australia- Katter attempts to force discussion on abortion access in Queensland parliament despite ban on debate

By Sarah Richards and Ned Hammond
June 2, 2026

An attempt by Katter's Australian Party (KAP) to dodge a debate ban and revive abortion access discussion has been shot down in state parliament.

The subject became an issue ahead of the last Queensland election in October 2024, when KAP pledged to introduce legislation to repeal abortion laws after the poll.

After winning government, Premier David Crisafulli banned MPs from amending the Termination of Pregnancy Act or debating any motion that allowed the parliament to express a view on the law over the LNP's first term.

Continued; https://www.abc.net.au/news/2026-06-02/katters-australian-party-abortion-drug-debate-crisafulli/106750096

02.06.2026

Termination of Pregnancy Act

Australia – Abortion battles erupt in two states

New legislation in QLD and NSW could impose further hurdles on health practitioners providing medical terminations.

02 June 2026
By Alyssa Talakovski

Dual threats to abortion care have emerged in both QLD and NSW, sparking pushback from GPs and nurses alike.

The Medicines and Poisons (Medicines) Amendment Regulation 2026 would enable more nurses and midwives in Queensland to administer the medical termination pill MS2-Step.

But Katter Australian Party leader Robbie Katter has lodged a disallowance motion against the amendment.

Continued: https://www.medicalrepublic.com.au/abortion-battles-erupt-in-two-states/126176

One Nation wants to roll back abortion rights in Australia – and is emboldening activists seeking US-style laws

Support for Pauline Hanson’s populist party has given fresh impetus to a loose network of activists trying to chip away at reproductive rights

Tory Shepherd
Mon 1 Jun 2026

The headline act at a Sydney anti-abortion rally being held on Tuesday in support of Libertarian MP John Ruddick’s bill to restrict abortion will not be Ruddick.

It will be the One Nation MP Barnaby Joyce. Joyce left the Nationals last year, not long after he was rebuked for his statements about abortion.

The dramatic rise in the polls of his new party has given fresh impetus to a loose network of anti-abortion groups trying to chip away at reproductive rights.

Continued: https://www.theguardian.com/world/2026/jun/01/one-nation-rise-anti-abortion-groups-australia-ntwnfb

Australia – To put an end to the abortion wars, we need mass struggle

Issue: 187
1st July 2025
Judy McVey

The global surge of attacks on abortion rights has been a wake-up call for pro-choice activists in Australia.1 In June 2022, thousands rallied in solidarity with women in the United States when Roe v Wade was overturned by the US Supreme Court. Many media commentators argued that Australia was different from the US and abortion rights were safe here. After all, between 2002 and 2023, regional governments around the country removed abortion from criminal laws. Decriminalisation reflected community-wide popularity for legal abortion. Polls show that more than 80 percent of Australians believe “abortion should be legal and available in Australia in all circumstances”; anti-abortion sentiment is generally less than 10 percent.2

However, the bigots do not simply acknowledge defeat and disappear. Anti-abortionists inside and outside mainstream parties in Australia were emboldened by the rise of the far right and anti-abortion politics in the US and Europe.

Continued: https://isj.org.uk/abortion-wars-australia/

Improving access to medical abortion in Australian primary care

Primary care providers play an integral part in medical abortion access, but many barriers are preventing uptake of medical abortion provision.

Annika Howells
Issue 25 / 30 June 2025

Access to safe and affordable abortion is essential health care and a human right.

Medical abortion — via administration of the combined mifepristone–misoprostol regimen (MS-2 Step) — is becoming more accessible, thanks to increased access via telehealth models and subsidisation in the Pharmaceutical Benefits Scheme.

However, medical abortion is still not widely available in primary care, and geographic and financial barriers remain.

Continued: https://insightplus.mja.com.au/2025/25/improving-access-to-medical-abortion-in-australian-primary-care/

30.06.2025

Commentary

belief-based care denial

conscientious objection

Dr Greta Skahill

medication abortion

mifepristone and misoprostol

MS-2 Step

primary care providers and abortion

Australia – Dollars, distance and political power: Inside the barriers to abortion access

By national regional affairs reporter Lucy Barbour and Lucy Sweeney

May 31, 2025

Every week, Australians seeking a legal form of health care are forced to traverse their home states and territories — sometimes crossing borders — to access an abortion.

Depending on where someone lives, and how far into the pregnancy they are, the path to this time-critical procedure can be obstructed by hurdles that amplify fear, trauma and financial disadvantage.

Continued: https://www.abc.net.au/news/2025-06-01/abortion-access-in-australia-financial-and-regional-disadvantage/105291406

Australia – ‘We must be alert to complacency’: inside Victoria’s push to extend abortion access

The state has increased availability of medical and surgical abortions – but a recent symposium has heard affordability and some doctors’ reluctance are halting progress

Benita Kolovos, Victorian state correspondent
Sat 3 May 2025

On a grey Monday morning outside the State Library in Melbourne’s CBD, there’s little to suggest anything out of the ordinary – no protests, no placards, no media. But stream of women – and a few men – are making their way inside for what is, in fact, a landmark event.

“How extraordinary it is,” says former Victorian health minister and MC Jill Hennessy, “to come to a symposium about abortion as healthcare in the state of Victoria, [and] that this isn’t some secret meeting held down in an underground tunnel where women plot to ensure our health rights are recognised.”

Continued: https://www.theguardian.com/australia-news/2025/may/04/victoria-abortion-access

Australia- Expansion of medical abortion prescribers to be considered by NSW government

By Lani Oataway, ABC Central West
Feb 9, 2025

A New South Wales Health review of abortion legislation has recommended the government consider changing the law to allow endorsed midwives and nurse practitioners to prescribe medicine for early terminations.

It would mean at least 900 more health practitioners across the state could prescribe MS-2 Step — a two-part medication that stops pregnancy up to 63 days after a menstrual period — aside from doctors.

Continued: https://www.abc.net.au/news/2025-02-10/medical-abortion-expansion-recommendation-nurse-practitioners/104909264

Australia – Family Planning report reveals a third of NSW local government areas had no doctors providing medical abortions in 2022

Lucy Barbour and Lucy Sweeney
Wed 11 Dec, 2024

When Charlotte (not her real name) asked a doctor in the New South Wales southern highlands for a medical abortion, he ignored her request, gave her a blood test referral and ushered her out of the room.

The decision to terminate her third pregnancy was not one she had made lightly. Her youngest daughter was experiencing behavioural challenges and the entire family was struggling.

She had hoped the GP would provide a prescription for the abortion pills, known as MS-2 Step. Instead, she left with an overwhelming sense of shock and confusion.

Continued: https://www.abc.net.au/news/2024-12-12/one-third-nsw-shires-not-providing-medical-abortions/104708208

Australia – Orange Hospital directs staff to no longer provide abortions to patients without ‘early pregnancy complications’

Exclusive by national regional affairs reporter Lucy Barbour
Thursday 7 November

An explicit ban on abortions for non-medical reasons has been laid down by the executive of a regional New South Wales public hospital, the ABC can reveal.

A leaked document shows that staff at Orange Health Service in Central West NSW can no longer provide abortions for patients with "no identified pregnancy complications".

Continued: https://www.abc.net.au/news/2024-11-08/orange-hospital-directs-staff-to-stop-providing-some-abortions/104537862