ACT becomes the first state to offer free abortions

Safe, non-judgemental and cost-free

Free abortion care and long-acting reversible contraception services to all ACT residents. Image: Getty

From today, no-cost reproductive care is available in the ACT to anyone who needs it including free medical and surgical abortions and long-acting contraceptives. 

When abortion is discussed in the news, the focus is on the morality of the issue rather than the harrowing experience of the individuals in need of this time-sensitive critical health care service.

Last year, the ACT Legislative Assembly released its Inquiry into Abortion and Reproductive Choice, exposing the detrimental effects of seeking the service on residents' mental and physical health. As well as financial strain, revealing that many Canberrans had to travel to Brisbane for care.

As a result of the Inquiry, the ACT government said no more, promising to put the person receiving care back in the spotlight, which it did today. Affordable and accessible reproductive services are now available to ACT residents with or without a Medicare card.

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The initiative for free reproductive care, which was inspired by the report's recommendations and to which the ACT government has pledged 4.6 million over four years, eliminates any resident's out-of-pocket costs for accessing reproductive health care services.

Residents can access medical abortions up to nine weeks gestation at a variety of medical clinics, including trained GPs and Canberra's long-running MSI Australia clinic, which also provides surgical abortions up to 16 weeks gestation.

Residents can also access medical abortions through telehealth services such as Tele-Abortion, or Abortion Online, which provide the Abortion Pill to those who can't access in-clinic abortion services.

A medical abortion involves the administration of medications to induce termination, with a very low risk of complications, while surgical abortions need to be performed in day surgery by a doctor and in the presence of an anaesthetist.

ACT residents with or without a Medicare card can access the service. Image: iStock

ACT Health Minister Rachel Stephen-Smith proudly told the ABC, "ACT is becoming the first jurisdiction to provide people with free surgical and medical abortions for anyone who needs it, up to 16 weeks." Smith optimistically proclaimed it a "first step," with the hope of expanding it to other providers and assisting ACT women in making more informed decisions "without stigma or financial burden."

MSI Canberra Clinic Nurse Unit Manager Melissa Ryan said, “We regularly see people who are struggling to pay for the cost of abortion care and this will make such a huge difference to the lives of countless people.”

Deputy Chief Minister and Minister for Women Yvette Berry stated that offering no-cost abortions was an initiative in the ACT Women’s Plan 2016-26, which would be in addition providing selected patients with long-acting reversible contraception such as the intra-uterine device (IUD).

Lauren Anthes, CEO of Women's Health Matters, welcomed the new government initiative but said more work was needed to make the service truly accessible, specifically recommending women have access to abortions after 16 weeks of pregnancy.

"Women who are over 16 weeks' gestation can't access surgical abortions — and this is due to facility and workforce limitations," Ms Anthes explained, adding that these women will still need to travel and may face financial constraints.

Originally published as ACT becomes the first state to offer free abortions