00:00Just because abortion is legal and decriminalised doesn't mean that women will have access to
00:07abortion.
00:08We have always known that rural, regional and remote locations, women have problems
00:13accessing abortion and that is just not on anymore.
00:17It is important that everybody, every woman, no matter where she is in Australia, has the
00:21same equitable access to abortion.
00:24So why is this the case for women in rural, regional and remote Australia?
00:28What are the influences here?
00:30The influences are distance, that's one thing.
00:33We also know that there may be a concentration of doctors who may be conscientious objectors
00:39to providing abortion care, although as doctors we have a responsibility, if we are conscientious
00:45objectors, to refer women to people who will be able to provide that service.
00:50But it might be that there aren't any local providers who are not conscientious objectors.
00:55I think what this report has also uncovered is that it might not be just the doctors,
01:00it might actually be healthcare executives and people who are in decision-making roles
01:05in healthcare organisations who might have similar views and they might be the reason
01:10why women in these areas can't access abortion care.
01:14And to clarify, is the access different for medical abortions compared to surgical?
01:19There's a difference in the two because medical abortions can be provided by GPs, they can
01:24be provided by nurse practitioners, but surgical abortions usually need a higher degree of
01:29training and they usually need either a GP who has done specific training in providing
01:34surgical abortions or obstetricians, gynaecologists to provide this care.
01:39This has been called an unspoken ban, so if it's not spoken about, are you finding that
01:43women are not even aware of this till the situation presents itself?
01:48Absolutely, and I think it is very important for all healthcare providers and the government
01:54to be very clear about where abortion services are available and how women can access them.
02:00There should be information available at every state level, at every jurisdiction of how
02:05women should be able to access abortion.
02:07That's non-negotiable.
02:09So even when questions are asked, are they answered?
02:12Is there transparency here?
02:15There should be transparency.
02:16We certainly advocate for that transparency to be present.
02:19We don't always get it across the board everywhere and that is something that we should address
02:25proactively.
02:27Just this month, South Australia's upper house had only narrowly voted down a proposal that
02:31would require those wanting to terminate their pregnancy after 28 weeks to deliver their
02:35baby alive.
02:37Now we also know with the US election going on at the moment, how big an issue abortion
02:41rights are there.
02:43Do you hold fears for abortion laws in Australia?
02:47I think it is extremely important that we continue to make sure that abortion care is
02:52freely available to all women in Australia.
02:55This South Australia vote is very worrying.
02:57We should not be mixing politics with healthcare.
03:00Abortion is healthcare and that is where it should stay.
03:03The decision of abortion should sit with the woman and her healthcare provider and it should
03:08not be made a political football.
03:10Abortion is healthcare has been a political football for far too long and it is time to
03:14stop that.
03:15It is time to make sure that women get the healthcare they need.
03:18Abortion is healthcare, full stop.
Comments