The Women's has advocated for greater access to abortion and contraception services, appearing at a Senate hearing on the topic.
The Women’s CEO, Professor Sue Matthews, and Head of the Women's Abortion and Contraception and Early Pregnancy Service, A/Professor Paddy Moore, were pleased to speak to the Senate Community Affairs Reference Committee’s Inquiry into Universal Access to Reproductive Healthcare today.
"Despite being a progressive country, barriers to affordable, appropriate and effective contraception and abortion exist in Australia – and much of it is by design rather than by chance," Prof Matthews told the hearing.
She and A/Professor Moore spoke about some of the barriers many Australian women and girls face when seeking to access contraception, early medical abortion and surgical abortion.
They called for:
- all contraception methods and medications to be available at no cost (as they are in the UK)
- a change to regulations so nurse practitioners and clinical nurse consultants can assess patients and prescribe early medical abortion medication
- investment in training for more nurses, midwives and doctors in sexual and reproductive health
- continuing Medicare Benefits Scheme (MBS) funding for sexual and reproductive telehealth services to improve access for those in regional and rural areas
- establishing a national training, research and advocacy centre in abortion provision (which the Women’s has the expertise to lead).
To find out more, read the Women’s submission to the Committee