LNP not ruling out abortion review as state seeks access fix

Queensland health authorities are reviewing abortion access across the state in a bid to fix issues still plaguing the patchwork scheme four years on from the procedure’s decriminalisation.

Confirmation of the move comes amid heightened public focus on the reforms and a refusal from the state’s LNP Opposition to rule out future attempts to unpick them.

Opposition Leader David Crisafulli did not rule out a review of the state’s abortion laws if the Liberal National Party won government at the 2024 Queensland election.Credit: Matt Dennien

After the overturning of Roe v Wade in the United States, advocates have warned about the decision energising opponents in Australia. Thousands of advocates have since rallied across Brisbane and other cities this month to demand free and more accessible services for all.

In Queensland, which decriminalised the procedure via a conscience vote only in 2018, the LNP went to the 2020 state election pledging a review of the laws and pointing to changes sought through parliament for lower gestation limits and mandatory counselling.

A total of 29 of the party’s 36 state MPs who voted against the change remain in parliament. Two of the three state MPs within the party who voted for the change, amid disendorsement threats, remain. Prominent federal members have also attended recent anti-abortion rallies.

LNP leader David Crisafulli, among those who voted against the reform, was questioned about his party’s stance this week and said he did not see the issue as one of a “party policy position” because it was a matter of life and death.

Asked if a review would still take place if his party won office in 2024, Crisafulli was careful in his response, but did not explicitly rule one out, saying it was not a party room decision but one for individuals.

“Clearly you saw where the votes fell this time and I think that will give you an indication that individuals can express their individual views, and that is the best way that that should be conducted,” he said.

While the procedure is now legal in the state, support organisations have repeatedly warned that women still face significant barriers around wait times, conflicting advice, and travel distances resulting in some having to go through with unwanted pregnancies.

Attorney-General Shannon Fentiman later seized on Crisafulli’s comments, saying the LNP would “always be a threat” to women’s reproductive rights.

After abortion was removed from South Australia’s criminal laws this week, Western Australia remains the only state to have not fully decriminalised the procedure.

Daile Kelleher, chief executive of the Brisbane-based support service Children by Choice, said the organisation had recently raised access issues directly with Hospital and Health Service boards, which are responsible for region-by-region services.

“Legislation was one thing, but we actually need to do better in the systems to actually make sure that access is embedded,” she said.

A Queensland Health spokesperson said the department was “currently reviewing access to termination of pregnancy services with a focus on ensuring sustainable access for Queenslanders, now and into the future”.

The spokesperson would not be drawn on the expected timeframe or outcome of the review.

Abortion is available on request in Queensland until 22 weeks gestation, after which a second doctor must be consulted. While free for those with Medicare cards in the public hospitals that provide the service, those without face cost barriers elsewhere.

Some private health practitioners and hospitals can also conscientiously object to carrying out the procedure. The closure of private regional clinics run by family planning organisation Marie Stopes has also created further difficulties.

After the closure of one in Rockhampton last year, the public hospital will now offer surgical abortions from next week, with “phased implementation” across the HHS region.

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