NSW abortion deserts: just three of 220 public hospitals provide terminations, research finds

Exclusive: All 15 health districts and the state’s health minister refuse to give public information on access to terminations

Melissa Davey, Nick Evershed and Donna Lu
Mon 16 Dec 2024

Just three of New South Wales’ 220 public hospitals are routinely providing abortions, according to research by the University of Sydney. The research, which maps lack of access to abortion in the state, also reveals that a majority of the state’s cities and towns are “abortion deserts”, meaning the nearest service is more than 160km away.

Abortion is basic healthcare that is legal in NSW. Despite the World Health Organization recommending that all public hospitals provide it, uncovering where it is offered, and under what circumstances, is difficult.

Continued: https://www.theguardian.com/australia-news/2024/dec/17/nsw-abortion-deserts-just-three-of-220-public-hospitals-provide-terminations-research-finds

16.12.2024

News

abortion deserts

Dr Anna Noonan

Dr Madeleine Belfrage

Family Planning Australia

Royal Australian and New Zealand College of Obstetricians and Gynaecologists

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

‘It’s kind of whispered in corridors’: women being forced into underground abortion networks in rural NSW, study finds

Small but influential number of medical practitioners leave pregnant women unable to access terminations in many parts of the state

Melissa Davey Medical editor
Mon 4 Nov 2024

A small but influential number of medical practitioners who obstruct abortion care or are uninterested in providing it are leaving women unable to access abortion in many parts of rural New South Wales, a study has found.

It has led to informal and often underground networks of health workers providing information and access to abortion care to patients, the study found, with these providers burning out due to high demand and attitudes toward them.

Continued: https://www.theguardian.com/world/2024/nov/05/abortion-access-study-rural-new-south-wales-women

Abortion is legal in Australia, but doctors say an ‘unspoken ban’ is robbing women in regional and rural areas of the right to choose

By Lucy Barbour, with illustrations by Emma Machan
Tuesday 29 October

A mother of two is browsing the racks of kids' clothing to pass time before her scheduled surgery, when she receives the call that almost breaks her.

"I'm really sorry, but we can't do the procedure today," an apologetic voice tells her.

Her lips tremble as she puts a hand to her mouth, struggling to take in the information. She hangs up the phone and stops still, frozen in shock.

Continued: https://www.abc.net.au/news/2024-10-30/abortion-access-regional-australia-denying-women-health-care/104387416

Australia – Health bodies call for end to ‘regressive’ QLD abortion debate

The RACGP has signed a joint statement expressing concerns over plans to recriminalise abortion, labelling it a ‘harmful step backward’.

21 Oct 2024
Chelsea Heaney

Abortion legislation has become an unexpected fixture in the Queensland election after one politician announced they would be introducing a repeal bill. Debate over abortion access ahead of the Queensland election this weekend has triggered a cross-organisational response, with several peak health bodies labelling any roll backs in protections ‘not only regressive but dangerous’.

On Monday, the RACGP released a joint statement alongside the Royal Australian and New Zealand College of Obstetricians and Gynaecologists (RANZCOG), True Relationships and Reproductive Health Queensland, Queensland Sexual Assault Network, Women’s Health Services Alliance Queensland, Family Planning Alliance Australia, and Children by Choice.

Continued: https://www1.racgp.org.au/newsgp/clinical/health-bodies-call-for-end-to-regressive-qld-abort

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

New Zealand /Australia – New clinical guideline for abortion care released

The guidance has been described as an ‘important step’ towards universal access to safe and high-quality abortion care.

Jolyon Attwooll
06 Nov 2023

A new clinical guideline developed by the Royal Australian and New Zealand College of Obstetricians and Gynaecologists (RANZCOG) has been released.

Targeted at registered health professionals who provide abortion advice and care in both Australia and New Zealand, the document is the first binational guideline on abortion.

Continued: https://www1.racgp.org.au/newsgp/clinical/new-clinical-guideline-for-abortion-care-released

06.11.2023

News

clinical guidelines for abortion

Dr Gill Gibson

RANZCOG

Royal Australian and New Zealand College of Obstetricians and Gynaecologists

Australia – Medical abortions okayed even for second trimester

2 NOVEMBER 2023
By HELEN TOBLER

Australia’s first clinical guidelines outline how to confirm gestational age and abortion completion, as well pain relief and other management.

New clinical guidelines back medical abortions up to 24 weeks of pregnancy, but women’s access may be curtailed by state laws and hospital support.

Continued: https://www.medicalrepublic.com.au/medical-abortions-okayed-for-first-and-second-trimester/101838

02.11.2023

News

24-week limit

abortion guidelines

Australia abortion guidelines

Dr Kathy McNamee

RANZCOG

Royal Australian and New Zealand College of Obstetricians and Gynaecologists

Repeat abortion: narrowing the contraception gap

Insight Plus, Issue 13 / 11 April 2022
Cate Swannell

AROUND 2000 repeat medical abortions per year could be averted if women were routinely prescribed long-acting reversible contraceptives (LARCs) immediately following early medical abortion.

That’s the message from Australian researchers, published in the MJA, who found that just one in four women were provided with hormonal contraception within 60 days of their early medical abortion.

Continued: https://insightplus.mja.com.au/2022/13/repeat-abortions-narrowing-the-contraception-gap/

11.04.2022

Royal Australian and New Zealand College of Obstetricians and Gynaecologists

Australia – With closure of Marie Stopes clinics, regional women seeking an abortion will now find it even tougher

By Lily Nothling
Aug 29, 2021

When Zoe Eaton fell pregnant during high school, she knew she wanted an abortion, but getting one didn't come without hurdles.

"I didn't expect that I was going to be pregnant at 17. It was not something I wanted for myself," Ms Eaton said. "To me, my future looked pretty bleak if I had to go through with that pregnancy."

Continued: https://www.abc.net.au/news/2021-08-30/access-to-abortion-really-difficult-in-regional-qld/100414012