Tasmanian abortion campaigner, sacked for expressing views, has shared her story

THE Hobart woman sacked after taking to social media about abortion access in Tasmania has shared her story in an Australia-first report on reproductive coercion.

Hobart woman Angela Williamson is challenging the Government on abortion services. Picture: MATHEW FARRELL

THE Hobart woman sacked after taking to social media about abortion access in Tasmania has shared her story in an Australia-first report on reproductive coercion.

Marie Stopes Australia’s Hidden Forces report, released today, has defined reproductive coercion as any behaviour that interferes with someone’s ability to make decisions about their own reproductive health.

This could be on an individual level, such as domestic violence, or structural, meaning it was driven by issues such as gender inequality, economic circumstances or government policy.

Tasmania’s almost 11 months without a low-cost surgical pregnancy termination provider was used as an example of structural reproductive coercion because the lack of local access “significantly impacted the reproductive decision-making of many Tasmanian women”.

MORE NEWS:

FINE PRICE FOR TOP TASSIE WINE

COACH KEEPING HIS CALM AMID THE SPORTING STORM

DESTINATION HOBART JUST GOT A BIT EASIER

Marie Stopes data showed at least 10 Tasmanian women accessed the service’s interstate surgical termination services each month after the state’s last low-cost provider closed.

Chief executive Michelle Thompson said the difference in abortion access across states and territories underlined the need for a consistent approach to sexual and reproductive health.

“[Tasmania] is a stark example because you’re an island and you just can’t drive to the next state. But across Australia we see women flying from WA to Victoria, we see regional and remote women having difficulties gaining access to medical termination and surgical termination,” Ms Thompson told the Sunday Tasmanian.

Hobart woman Angela Williamson was forced to travel interstate for a pregnancy termination earlier this year. Upon her return she tweeted about the need for the Tasmanian Government to act.

We are at Day 315 of a campaign of politically motivated reproductive coercion and gender inequality in Tasmania. If this restoration model continues to be delayed, is unsustainable, is fragmented & unaffordable - then we need to re-evaluate the model NOT keep waiting #politas https://t.co/hHmrW8bjRP

— Ange Williamson (@ange_williamson) November 10, 2018

Her tweets were sent by a government staffer to her former employer Cricket Australia and she subsequently lost her job.

More than 35,000 people have since signed Ms Williamson’s online petition calling for equal access to abortion across Australia.

She’s also received thousands of direct emails, calls and texts of support.

“Over 100 of the messages and conversations were Tasmanian women telling me about their abortion — surgical and medical — experiences,” Ms Williamson said.

The Tasmanian Government has since negotiated with a new private provider to offer low-cost surgical abortions from Hobart.

The provider, Hampton Park Women’s Health Care, started taking referrals on Monday and is scheduled to start performing terminations from Wednesday.

Ms Thompson said Marie Stopes “cautiously welcomed” the new provider, but remained concerned the offering was too fragmented.

“It’s not just a matter of referring a woman to have a medical or surgical abortion, it’s actually looking after a woman from the time they make that decision or assisting them to make an informed decision right through the whole process,” she said.

MORE ON THE ABORTION DEBATE:

SACKED STAFFER SETTLES WITH CRICKET AUSTRALIA

STUCK IN RUT ON ABORTION DEMAND

ABORTION CAMPAIGNER BUOYED BY SUPPORT

CALL FOR INQUIRY OVER WORKER’S SACKING

BRING IT ON, SAYS LEGAL FORCE

“Otherwise, they’re treating women of Tasmania as second-class citizens.”

Ms Williamson agreed and called on the Tasmanian Government to treat abortion as a public health issue rather than putting it on the private sector.

“We are constantly told that more women will have the medical termination nowadays so we don’t need a comprehensive statewide model for surgical termination services as demand is less,” she said.

“But women should have choice. Having a medical termination at home won’t work for everybody and it doesn’t work after nine weeks gestation.”

Speaker Sue Hickey has said she would lobby her Liberal colleagues to make the Government fund the new $475 surgical termination service for disadvantaged women, offer easier access to the transport assistance funding and free accommodation for people who had to travel from other regions of Tasmania to access the service, and provide medical termination drugs from all of the state’s public hospitals.