Abortion access Qld: Women share horror stories of broken system

A Queensland woman has shared her abortion horror story, reliving her extreme desperation as medical authorities refused to help her. WARNING: CONFRONTING

A woman left so desperate for access to an abortion she considered going to her local hospital’s emergency department and threatening to perform the procedure herself, and another who missed her window of opportunity completely, are speaking out in the hope other Queensland women don’t experience the same fate.

Bianca, a 30-year-old environmental scientist from North Queensland, and Charlotte, a Caboolture stay-at-home mother, shared their harrowing stories at the Senate inquiry into universal access to reproductive healthcare.

Charlotte was grieving the loss of her brother in early 2021 when she found out she was pregnant, she went to the GP to ask for a referral to Royal Brisbane and Women’s Hospital to access abortion services.

“The referral was never sent. I was nearly 19 weeks pregnant and received the referral in the mailbox, which he was supposed (send) to the hospital but never did,” she said.

Despite repeated visits to the same doctor and multiple phone calls regarding the referral, Charlotte gave birth on Christmas Day.

Bianca had just ended her engagement in April 2020 (during the pandemic) and said she did not want to be responsible for bringing another unwanted child into the world “subjecting it to a lifetime of challenges because of the resources I did not have to provide it with, such as a secure and loving home and financial means”.

Townsville abortion clinic Marie Stopes International

“I found out relatively early that I was pregnant, which I ignorantly expected to mean that I had the advantage of time to organise a termination,” she told the inquiry last week.

After researching her options online Bianca found the only surgery provider of abortion services in Far North Queensland clinic – the Marie Stopes clinic in Townsville.

However, the clinic, which is now closed, was staffed exclusively with practitioners from interstate.

“I learned this the hard way, when the clinic rescheduled my appointment multiple times over two weeks and then finally phoned me to cancel the clinic entirely. They explained that they couldn’t get any practitioners from interstate into Townsville (due to border restrictions) to provide the service,” she said

“I was standing in the Central Queensland outback, working on Good Friday morning, when Marie Stopes phoned me and delivered this news … I asked them: ‘What am I going to do?’ The receiver replied, ‘I don’t know. I suggest you try the local hospital.’ ”

She had to wait until Tuesday to “make the series of embarrassing phone calls to explore my options”.

“I phoned the women’s and children’s clinic and, through tears, explained my situation. Again, the receiver said they couldn’t help me and that I needed to source a GP and, if I could not figure out an option with them, then I should try emergency services,” she said.

Queensland women have shared their horror stories. (File picture)

“At this point, I was considering walking myself into emergency services at the local hospital and threatening to undertake the procedure myself if no one would help me. I’m sharing this because it depicts where I was at mentally.”

Bianca finally found a “lovely” GP who wanted to help but was not registered to write her a script for the abortion medication

“Phone call after phone call, through word-of-mouth my GP found an accredited prescriber. I couldn’t get in for an appointment for another three days. The clock was ticking,” she said.

Once she was finally in front of a GP able to provide the service Bianca faced more roadblocks – including him only agreeing to provide the script with a note saying she was “not allowed” another abortion and must go on “proper” contraception.

“I silently agreed, despite my disgust and protest at this discrimination, because I had not a single other option to access this service through,” she said.

“Younger, more impressionable women are falling victim to this kind of discrimination. I am fortunate enough to have a good education and consider myself a fairly resilient person. “Seeking abortion services is not a feel-good experience without the added discrimination of medical staff or other people.

“Women who are far more vulnerable than myself may have been pressured to make a different decision to what they actually wanted.”