It’s the New South Wales Election this week – and no one is talking about one of the most important rights for women.
Almost one in three Australian women will seek an abortion in their lifetime. But it is illegal to in New South Wales, where more than a third of the country lives.
It is illegal to have an abortion, and for a doctor to perform it – unless there is a serious threat to a woman’s mental or physical health.
This archaic law – first established in 1900 – currently carries a prison sentence of up to 10 years.
While the Greens are making noise on this – they want abortion decriminalised and for women to be protected from harassment outside New South Wales clinics – both Premier Mike Baird and opposition leader Luke Foley say they have no plans to budge on the issue if they are successful in Saturday’s vote. But why?
Why, in 2015, can’t a woman make a decision about her own body, on her own terms? And why are our two leading state politicians not concerned, or, in fact, too concerned about adding it to their agenda?
It’s hard to find more up-to-date stats, but the 2003 Australian Survey of Social Attitudes found that 81 per cent of those asked believed a woman should have the right to choose whether or not she has an abortion.
Of course, there are always going to be stead-fast pro-life advocates out there, and that’s ok, but it’s time to separate personal opinion from individual choice. To really support women’s rights, the law must be pro-choice, and if that choice is to seek an abortion, it should not be affected by a postcode lottery.
RELATED: This is why abortion must be safe, legal and affordable in Australia.
Unwanted pregnancies happen. Studies of Australian and New Zealand women considering abortion have even shown that up to 80 per cent had been using contraception at the time they became pregnant. Yet the details of how they got pregnant, or even why they want an abortion should not be the deciding factor.
A 1971 court ruling updated the New South Wales law to make abortion legal if economic, social and medical grounds could be proven – separating it from Queensland’s current legislation – the only other state in Australia where abortion is illegal. But it’s still not enough.
What if a woman just wants an abortion?
According to a 2005 report by the Victorian Government’s Better Health Channel, the typical profile of a woman who requests an abortion is in her 20s; single; childless; well educated; and employed. If that is still the case, then that’s me.
If I was to find myself pregnant and seeking an abortion, would I be turned away from my local clinics in New South Wales and forced to travel to a different state? Or would I be expected to feign that such a pregnancy would be serious threat to my health or socio-economic circumstances, as, quite frankly, it wouldn’t. Why would I not be supported to make that decision of my own accord, but trusted to raise a child for the next 18 years?
RELATED: A very, very different kind of abortion story.
Having lived in the UK until last year – where abortion is legal – I’ve known several women who have had an abortion. Yes, for some it has been an incredibly hard decision with days spent agonising over the imagined impact of parenthood. But for others, truth be told, it’s been the easiest choice they’ve ever made. And that’s ok. We don’t need to pit these women against each other as if one is more certified to have an abortion than the other.
Access to abortion should not mean having to navigate a confusing labyrinth of legislation. Criminalising abortion evokes shame, blame and disempowerment. Abortion is nothing but a women’s health issue and a woman’s right.
For more information on abortion in NSW visit fpnsw.org.au
Kate Sullivan (@katesullijourno) is a freelance writer based in Sydney
Top Comments
A very good question Kate; why indeed? In Victoria last year, all candidates were polled about their attitude to women's reproductive rights; those that refused to say were considered to be opposed to abortion.
What this did was to expose the politicians who would support a minority opinion (of 8%) who do not believe a woman has the right to choose for herself and want to retain an archaic law, written in England in 1861. In 1861 doctors did not even know to was their hands before surgery, no early diagnosis of pregnancy was available and no anaesthetics were used; the law was to protect women from harm.
Now it is over 100 times safer to have an early termination than the risks of a continued pregnancy!
Come on NSW, get into the 21st Century; you are becoming the "Backward State"
I'm glad I wasn't the only one who was confused. I also obtained a safe and legal abortion and paid around $500.
However, as I wasn't near a main town u had to travel a bit over an hour and we stayed in a hotel for a while because we had to be within easy reach of a hospital should complications occur.
What was scary was the lack of knowledge. Because it is something we don't talk about, and the process of my abortion was "atypical and bad luck" it was scary having no idea if the symptoms you are experiencing are normal or bad. Because it cost to see the specialist, I was relying on phone calls to the nurse during the week and a 24 hour hotline over the weekend.
And the lack of availability is definitely an issue once you hit rural areas. In NT, for example your only choice is to go straight to a hospital in either Darwin or Alice Springs.