A new ‘born alive’ bill has been brought before federal parliament. While it won’t pass, it reveals the strategies of the growing anti-abortion push.
- Senior Research Fellow, Social Inquiry, La Trobe University
On first glance, this might appear to be a defensible measure. But there’s little evidence these abortions are occurring.
Abortion is legal in all Australian states and territories. But the availability and cost of services depends on where you live and your pregnancy gestation.
The erasure of the constitutional right to abortion will be felt most acutely in states with already dramatically reduced access to abortion.
We need more health workers and public hospitals to provide abortions, a common and essential health service.
South Australia this week has passed a bill to decriminalise abortion, the last Australian jurisdiction to do so. Yet people seeking an abortion still face a variety of challenges.
Abortions are expensive and, for many women, difficult to access. These challenges are only heightened during the coronavirus pandemic.
If NSW decriminalises abortion, women will be able to access a termination up to 22 weeks’ gestation. But such cut-offs are arbitrary and should be abandoned.
Although there is a move towards decriminalising abortion in Australian states, there is a long way to go before abortion is treated like other medical procedures under the law.
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