Stigma obstructing regional women from abortion access

Australian women seeking abortions, particularly in regional areas, are bearing the cost of obstructed access and stigma in healthcare.

Transcript

00:00Kate Carls speaking out on behalf of those who can't.

00:07Because the amount of judgement that I had got to try and get to that point, it was ridiculous.

00:15Last year Kate unexpectedly fell pregnant.

00:19She chose to have a medical abortion, so her GP prescribed MS2-step.

00:24It's rare for medical abortions to fail, but hers did.

00:27And more than three months later, she was back at the GP's office, now 20 weeks pregnant.

00:33He shook his head and said, you've got yourself into a predicament.

00:40Then went on to tell me, this is your miracle baby, you need to have this baby.

00:45Kate didn't feel she could care for a child.

00:48But getting an abortion at her gestation proved difficult

00:52because the nearby public hospital in Orange had stopped providing abortions for unwanted pregnancies.

00:58The easiest option, as far as the system was concerned, was for me to have that baby.

01:04She and her GP tried multiple hospitals and clinics, but with no luck.

01:08Kate was eventually admitted at Nepean, a four and a half hour drive away.

01:13She had to go through counselling, arrange a birth and death certificate, then be induced and go through a painful labour.

01:21She gave birth to the foetus, four days shy of the legal deadline.

01:25I feel like a monster.

01:27Access has improved in some jurisdictions, but many say abortion stigma remains embedded in the health system.

01:35The people in positions of power in states and territories in the health system will dictate whether abortion is provided or not.

01:42The ABC has spoken to clinicians right across the country who've witnessed health workers and professionals,

01:48as well as hospital managers and executives, restricting abortion access.

01:53Advocates argue that what happened to Kate is just one example of how decisions made at the very top

01:59trickle down the health system affecting those working in it and the people seeking treatment.

02:05They are single mothers, they are migrant and refugees, people with disability,

02:10they're Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander people.

02:12Often it's the most vulnerable who need time critical care.