The Greens will keep abortion on the federal election agenda with a $100 million funding pledge to give public hospitals more resources to perform terminations, as new polling shows most Australians want abortion laws left intact.
Their policy will push Labor to reveal its own plans for improving access to terminations after a messy political debate, fuelled by the United States election, raised fears that Australia’s abortion laws could be unwound.
Greens Senator Larissa Waters said the renewed culture war had illustrated why the federal government needed to play a greater role in guaranteeing abortion access.Credit: Alex Ellinghausen
The Coalition belatedly sought to dial down debate after Nationals Senator Jacinta Price put it on the national agenda with controversial comments that said late-stage abortions were akin to infanticide. Opposition Leader Peter Dutton told his MPs he had no plans to change the laws and urged them to shut down the discussion because it had cost the party votes.
But Greens Senator Larissa Waters said the renewed culture war illustrated why the federal government needed to play a greater role in ensuring everyone could access the healthcare they needed, given many women in Australia have no option but to travel hundreds of kilometres and pay more than $600 at private services.
“Reproductive healthcare must not be a culture war or a postcode lottery,” she said. “While abortion is now legal across the country, whether or not you can actually access this time-bound healthcare [depends on where you live].”
States and territories generally regulate abortion in Australia, with most allowing abortions up to at least 20 weeks, but the federal government regulates medication, such as the abortion drug RU-486, and issues some funding under Medicare.
Labor promised to improve access before the 2019 election by requiring public hospitals to provide abortions if they wanted to receive federal funding, but has since ruled out that policy.
Polling conducted for this masthead by the Resolve Political Monitor reveals 59 per cent of voters want abortion laws left alone. Just 18 per cent think there should be a debate about abortion before deciding whether changes are needed, and 9 per cent think abortions should be harder to obtain.
The majority of Labor (61 per cent), Coalition (56 per cent) and Greens (70 per cent) voters support keeping laws intact.
More people want the federal government to intervene than those who want abortion laws left to the states: 40 per cent said federal laws and funding should be deployed, 33 per cent said it should be the state’s domain, while about a quarter were unsure.
Resolve pollster Jim Reed said the desire for federal intervention probably indicated people wanted consistent laws that weren’t at risk of being wound back in one jurisdiction. “Most voters across all party blocs and all states want to retain the status quo when it comes to abortion law,” he said.
Abortion services are a patchwork across the country. Almost one in three women in Australia, and one in two in remote areas, live in regions without local access to the abortion pill, according to the Centre of Research Excellence in Sexual and Reproductive Health.
Surgical abortion can also be hard to get. There is no requirement that public hospitals perform abortions, and many refuse to perform them for conscience reasons or because they fear an influx would take up already overstretched resources.
Waters said the Greens’ policy will go part-way to fixing that problem by giving more resources to cash-strapped hospitals but would not compel them to perform abortions.
“With the closure of many private abortion facilities in recent years, many women – particularly those in regional and remote areas – are left with little choice but to travel hundreds of kilometres and spend thousands of dollars,” she said.
“The Greens will provide $100 million per year to equip public hospitals with the personnel and facilities required to provide termination services. We’ve seen conservatives in Queensland, South Australia and the USA open the culture war again, and it’s critical Labor take this opportunity to make sure every person in the country can access the reproductive healthcare they need.”
A Senate inquiry into reproductive healthcare last year recommended all public hospitals offer surgical abortions or steer patients to affordable providers, while the abortion pill should be easier to prescribe.
It heard women outside cities often travelled 200 kilometres to get an abortion, leading one in 10 to pay for overnight stays, while 4 per cent had to go interstate.
Labor acted last year to dramatically expand access to the abortion pill, but more than a year later it is yet to give its formal response to the inquiry’s final report.
Minister for Women Katy Gallagher told Senate estimates last week the government planned to respond by the end of the year.
“We are looking to respond comprehensively across women’s reproductive health and wellbeing ... I know how much work is going into this.”
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