By Stephanie Bastiaan
South Australians are set to rally on the steps of Parliament this evening in support of MLC Sarah Game's bill to protect unborn babies from late-term abortion.
The Termination of Pregnancy (Restrictions on Terminations After 24 Weeks and 6 Days) Amendment Bill 2026, introduced on 20 May 2026, will introduce restrictions for abortion beyond 24 weeks and six days of pregnancy.
Under current laws, abortion is legal up to birth in South Australia. Abortions are available on request for any reason up to 22 weeks and six days, while abortions beyond that point must be approved by two medical practitioners where they consider continuing the pregnancy poses a risk to the physical or mental health of the mother, or where the unborn baby has serious foetal anomalies.
Since abortion was decriminalised in 2022, there have been over 100 late-term abortions post 22 weeks’ gestation. The figure is expected to rise once the 2025 data is released.
Late-term abortion raises profound ethical concerns. By 25 weeks of gestation, advances in neonatal medicine have dramatically improved survival rates for premature infants. At this stage of development, these babies have beating hearts, functioning organs, and the capacity to respond to stimuli. The physical and psychological risks of late-term abortion for women are also significant. Many South Australians find it deeply troubling that the law currently permits abortions well beyond the point of viability under broad criteria.
The Bill does not prohibit the ending of a pregnancy when a serious medical emergency arises. Rather, it recognises that there is a critical distinction between ending a pregnancy and intentionally ending the life of a viable unborn child. In modern obstetric practice, where a mother's health requires urgent intervention, doctors can often deliver the baby prematurely while providing intensive care to both mother and child. The objective should always be to preserve both lives wherever possible.
While introducing the bill, Game argued that the scale of late-term abortions had not been anticipated when the laws were debated, noting that then Attorney-General Vickie Chapman had assured South Australians that a third-trimester abortion for a mental health reason could not happen.
"Those who sold these laws sold them as being about decriminalisation, not about late-term abortion. Nearly three years on, we can see that the substantive effect of these laws has been an increase in late-term abortions with every passing year," Game said.
Game also highlighted the procedure used to abort a baby in the third trimester:
"With the passing of South Australian abortion up to birth laws in 2021, 105 fully formed babies older than 23 weeks have been killed through causing a painful cardiac arrest induced by an ultrasound-guided in-uterine injection of potassium chloride. This injection burns the heart of the baby while they are still alive."
"Potassium chloride is the same substance that is no longer used in America for capital punishment because medical evidence in firsthand prisoner accounts has exposed that, if the prisoner is not fully unconscious, the drug induces extreme pain."
"Yet this is precisely the method used to kill fully viable, healthy babies in South Australia. It is the preferred drug for late-term abortions because it guarantees a human baby's death."
This is not the first time South Australian MPs have sought to wind back the state's abortion laws. In October 2024, Liberal MP Ben Hood introduced a bill that would require live delivery instead of feticide after 28 weeks’ gestation for healthy babies. The bill was narrowly defeated by a single vote.
In November 2025, Sarah Game introduced a bill that would restrict abortion after 23 weeks except in cases of significant risk of foetal abnormality or to save a pregnant woman's life. That bill was defeated 11–8.
Since the November 2025 election there has been a significant shift in the upper house, with prominent pro-abortion MPs Tammy Franks and Connie Bonaros losing their seats while One Nation secured three seats. Labor Attorney-General Kyam Maher has told The Advertiser that Labor MPs will have a conscience vote, which could secure passage for the bill to go to the lower house, where it will be introduced by newly elected One Nation MP Chantelle Thomas.
The Bill will be debated and voted on Wednesday 17 June 2026.
Supporting women and protecting vulnerable unborn children are not competing goals. A compassionate society should strive to do both. Women facing difficult pregnancies deserve comprehensive medical care, emotional support, financial assistance, and practical help. The lives of viable unborn children deserve legal protection.
This Bill represents a reasonable and humane reform. It would bring South Australia closer to a framework that recognises the dignity of both mother and child while still allowing doctors to intervene in genuine life-threatening emergencies where the unborn child needs to be delivered prematurely to save the mother's life.
Women's Forum Australia is encouraging South Australians to show their support in by emailing their Upper House MPs urging them to vote for the Bill, and by attending Wednesday evening's rally at 5.30pm on the steps of Parliament House, organised by Dr Joanna Howe.
Stephanie Bastiaan is Head of Advocacy at Women's Forum Australia.
Women’s Forum Australia is an independent think tank that undertakes research, education and public policy advocacy on issues affecting women and girls, with a particular focus on addressing behaviours and practices that are harmful and abusive to them. We are a non-partisan, non-religious, tax-deductible charity. We do not receive any government funding and rely solely on donations to make an impact. Support our work today.
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