How Adelaide’s Professor Joanna Howe, key architect of abortion reform legislation, handles social media haters

Professor Joanna Howe – one of the key architects of abortion reform legislation – has revealed how she handles the social media haters.

• Joanna Howe’s abortion crusade

Prominent pro-life advocate Professor Joanna Howe says she is not focused on a core group of people that attack her online – and she has been “pleasantly surprised” at the level of positive engagement with abortion reform.

Dr Howe, a law professor at the University of Adelaide, helped draft a bill that would require mothers seeking abortions after 28 weeks to deliver their babies alive.

The bill was introduced to the upper house by Liberal MLC Ben Hood and will be brought to a vote on Wednesday.

As of Tuesday afternoon, it was expected to fall one vote short of the 11 votes needed to pass.

Dr Howe has been the key organiser of a campaign to generate support for the bill, and has led several rallies and letterboxing events urging MPs to vote in favour.

As part of that, she has posted regular updates on social media – having amassed more than 28,000 followers on Instagram and 25,000 on Facebook. She is also active on TikTok.

Professor Joanna Howe has become a leading figure in the fight against abortion in SA. Picture: RoyVPhotography

In an interview with The Advertiser, she said South Australian abortion reforms passed under the state Liberal government in 2021 were a turning point for her.

Under those changes, women can access an abortion after 22 weeks and six days if deemed medically appropriate by two doctors.

Dr Howe embraced social media as a means of speaking to the public directly about the issue but, before she began posting, she read research by Dr Debbie Garrett on the backlash directed at those who speak out against late-term abortion.

“It was really helpful to know that history, and I went into it with my eyes wide open,” she said.

She said she has had mixed reactions to her advocacy since she began regularly posting in 2022 – which was to be expected.

“I think (backlash) is par for the course if you’re going to challenge the status quo on anything,” she said.

“I’m actually really pleasantly surprised by the amount of people that have engaged with what I’m saying and actually come on board with some of it, or all of it.

Liberal upper house member Ben Hood with supporters of his Abortion Reform outside Parliament, including Nicola Centofanti, Professor Joanna Howe, Ben Hood, Laura Henderson, Sarah Game, Heidi Girolamo. Picture: Paul Starick

“There just is that core group of people that hate you and say really nasty things, they’re often defamatory things but I choose not to give it any time of day.”

Dr Howe said she has been the target of online campaigns that inform people how to lodge baseless complaints with her employer.

In what she described as a case of “cancel culture”, their aim is to have her removed from her role.

She said while online attacks can be hurtful, she also views them as an opportunity.

“My goal is to create a conversation about abortion and to stop it from being taboo,” she said.