Over the weekend, protestors called for “free, safe, legal, on demand” abortions in Australia “in solidarity with US abortion rights protestors”.

By Rachael Wong

The magnitude of what has just happened in the US is still setting in, and while many of us view it with hope, there are many others who see it as a tragedy. There will be more to say in the days and weeks to come, but these are my initial thoughts on the Supreme Court’s decision to overturn Roe v Wade and its implications for women and children.

Last month, the Northern Ireland Assembly passed a bill making it a criminal offence for anyone to engage in “influencing” women inside “safe access zones” (100m) around abortion clinics. The bill targets those who protest against abortion or attempt to assist pregnant women outside such clinics, in order to “protect” women from “harassment”.

A sixteen-year-old girl in the UK has described the horror of at-home abortion after a telehealth consultation miscalculated her gestation by 12 weeks.

Following the recent decriminalisation of abortion laws in some jurisdictions across Australia, the focus of abortion advocates has now turned to the issue of “equality of access”. There are calls for public funding and support to enable women who need to travel long distances to access abortions, particularly for women who don’t have the means to pay for interstate travel or whose personal situations make it difficult for them to leave home or miss work in order to attend clinics some distance away.

Concerns have been raised by women’s advocacy groups in South Australia following the release of new draft regulations which require comprehensive data to be provided by doctors regarding all abortions that are performed in the state.

The Northern Territory parliament has recently passed a bill which amends the Termination of Pregnancy Law Reform Act 2017, making it easier for women to access late-term abortions. But do these amendments genuinely improve Territorian women’s options and circumstances?

In Australia, the relatively recent phenomenon of ‘tele-abortions’ is being promoted to women as a safe and affordable alternative to surgical abortion, especially for women who live in regional or remote parts of the country. Women are able to access online telehealth consultations with physicians, obtain referrals for ultrasounds and blood tests if required, and then receive the required medications by way of courier to their home or pharmacies in close proximity to where they live.

Australia funds foreign abortions through its long-standing partnerships with leading sexual and reproductive health organisations, including the United Nations Population Fund (UNFPA), International Planned Parenthood Federation (IPPF) and Marie Stopes International Australia (MSIA). In November 2020, an e-petition (which garnered only two signatures) requested the Australian government to “substantially increase foreign aid to reputable family planning organisations”.

The tragic death of a 30-year-old woman in Poland has sparked protests and calls for a review of the country’s strict abortion laws, which were tightened earlier this year.