South Australia's abortion laws
Abortion is currently defined as a criminal offence in South Australia, except in circumstances where it’s deemed lawful. Unfortunately, this still has a significant impact of the willingness of doctors to provide abortion care.
The South Australian Abortion Action Coalition (SAAAC), have been working towards this legislation for years.
They’ve helpfully put together a fact sheet detailing the issues with South Australia’s current abortion laws, and how they could be improved. We’ve summarised some key points.
They limit access to healthcare
In South Australia, abortion care must be provided in a ‘prescribed hospital’, which doesn’t account for medical abortions. The impact of this restriction is most acutely experienced by women living in regional areas who often face delays and financial barriers to abortion care access.
Medical abortions are available up until nine weeks pregnancy. For many people who can’t, or don’t want to undergo a surgical procedure, a medical abortion is a non-invasive alternative. Unfortunately, a medical abortion must still be performed in a ‘prescribed hospital’. People in regional areas are sometimes forced to travel hundreds of kilometres just to take a tablet. In some instances, it could mean they experience the commencement of the abortion as they’re on their way home.
They disproportionately harm women in rural areas
Current laws state that a person must be a South Australian resident for to months prior to accessing abortion care. This makes access impossible for people living in neighbouring regions, such as Broken Hill, Mildura, Alice Springs, and even Darwin, who rely on providers in Adelaide since abortion care isn’t available in their areas.
They undermine a woman’s right to self-determination and bodily autonomy
Abortion is the only healthcare procedure in South Australia that requires examination and certification by two doctors. In order for a person to access abortion care, two doctors must agree that they meet a set of criteria, which was developed nearly 50 years ago.
The current laws deny a woman’s right to self-determination and bodily autonomy. The decision to terminate a pregnancy should be made by the person who is pregnant.
They include arbitrary restrictions on when a person can terminate a pregnancy
Ninety per cent of women in South Australia who have an abortion, do so within the first 14 weeks of pregnancy. Yet there are rare and complex circumstances, such as domestic violence or a foetal anomaly, which could mean a woman needs to terminate her pregnancy at a later stage.
South Australia’s laws currently impose a limit on the stage of pregnancy at which an abortion can be performed. The limit is set at 24 weeks pregnancy, which is completely arbitrary and out of step with medical evidence.
This information is based on series of fact sheets developed by the team at SAAAC. You can view the original source here and follow them on Facebook here.
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