NT woman shares her distressing story of seeking an abortion

WHEN  25-year-old Katie* found out she was pregnant she knew immediately she wasn’t ready to be a mother. But she wasn’t prepared for what came next

30/11/2007 FEATURES: Silhouette - generic of woman female crying, feeling sad and emotional.

WHEN  25-year-old Katie* found out she was pregnant a year ago she knew immediately she wasn’t ready to be a mother.

Coming to terms with her decision to abort her pregnancy was relatively easy compared to trying to access the services she needed in the Territory.

Katie came forward to share her story ahead of independent MLA and Speaker Kezia Purick introducing proposed law reforms on abortion in the NT parliament tomorrow. If successful, the Private Member’s Bill will see the first changes made to the Medical Services Act in 30 years.

“When I found out I was pregnant I went to see my GP and spoke about what my ­options were here (Darwin) and was told the waitlist was long at the RDH and I would have to wait a while in order to get a termination,” Katie said.

“The GP said if I could ­afford to it would be better if I just went down south, because the prospect of waiting one or two months to have an abortion was just too much.” Katie was referred to a ­Victorian clinic where she had a surgical termination. ­

Although she was only five weeks pregnant, Katie could not access RU486 abortion tablets in Victoria because she couldn’t afford to take the time off work required for the ­follow-up appointments.

“It was quite a rough time in my life, I am a carer and it was very difficult to not only take time off work but to make sure the person I care for had someone to take care of them while I was away,” she said.

“Financially it was rough, I had to borrow money and tell everyone I was going on holiday. So coming back and pretending I had this amazing holiday and pretending I was this person who had dumped their caring duties on someone else so they could have a holiday was incredibly difficult.”

But Katie knows she is one of the lucky ones. “I have a supportive partner and supportive boss, but I’m really fortunate. How many people my age have thousands of dollars at their disposal to travel down south for a procedure that should be available here?” she said. The Medical Services Act still criminalises abortion and does not allow doctors or ­nurses to provide RU468 to women.

Medical abortion has been available in all other parts of Australia since 2001 and the tablets have been on the Pharma­ceutical Benefits Scheme since August 2013.

Katie, who was born in the Territory, said it was disappointing she wasn’t offered the same services available to other Australian women.

“I was forced to have an invasive surgical procedure when I should have been able to have a medical abortion here in Darwin,” she said.

WHAT RU4 NT? is a group of women campaigning to see the laws changed.

*Name changed to protect privacy