Anti-Abortion Movement Ramps Up Efforts Across Australia
A significant rally in Sydney, slated for Tuesday, is set to feature One Nation MP Barnaby Joyce as its headline act, rather than the bill’s sponsor, Libertarian MP John Ruddick. Ruddick’s bill aims to introduce restrictions on abortion access. Joyce, who departed the Nationals last year following a reprimand for his public statements on abortion, now finds his new party experiencing a surge in poll numbers. This has injected renewed energy into a loosely affiliated network of anti-abortion groups actively seeking to curtail reproductive rights.
It has been nearly three years since abortion was decriminalised across all Australian states and territories. Since that landmark legal shift, a discernible pattern of legislative attempts to roll back access to abortion services has emerged. These efforts are not confined to a single party or jurisdiction, with bills being introduced by various political factions and independent members in multiple states. The proposed measures are diverse, seeking to achieve their objectives through different means:
- Banning late-term abortions: While statistically rare and often occurring in complex, heartbreaking circumstances, late-term abortions are a specific target for restriction.
- Mandating medical care for “born alive” infants: Legislation has been proposed to require medical intervention for babies who survive an abortion procedure. However, medical experts have widely contested the premise of such claims, deeming them misleading.
- Banning sex-selective abortions: This particular focus aims to prohibit abortions performed solely based on the sex of the foetus.
These three thematic pillars – late-term bans, “born alive” provisions, and sex-selection prohibitions – resonate strongly with a spectrum of right-wing and religious anti-abortion activists. Furthermore, they align directly with One Nation’s stated policy to “seek every opportunity to roll back brutal and extreme abortion law.”
Dr. Prudence Flowers, a senior lecturer in US history at Flinders University, suggests that the overlap in these policy approaches is not coincidental. She explains that the Australian anti-abortion movement is drawing explicit inspiration from historical legislative strategies employed in the United States. “The reason it seems so coordinated is that there is that playbook people can look to,” Dr. Flowers noted, highlighting the deliberate adoption of established tactics.
In the US, this incremental, multi-pronged approach to challenging abortion rights ultimately contributed to the overturning of Roe v. Wade in 2022. The repercussions of this decision continue to unfold, with individual states implementing varying degrees of abortion bans. The consequences of these restrictions extend beyond abortion access itself, leading to documented difficulties in obtaining healthcare for miscarriages, accessing fertility treatments, and challenges for obstetricians and gynaecologists in their practice. Tragically, there has also been an observed rise in infant mortality and pregnancy-related deaths in affected regions.
Current Legislative Landscape and Opposition
The momentum of the anti-abortion movement is evident in recent legislative proposals:
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South Australia: Former One Nation MP Sarah Game has put forward legislation proposing a ban on abortions after 25 weeks of gestation, even in cases involving severe foetal abnormalities. The potential passage of this bill is influenced by the presence of three newly elected One Nation representatives in the 22-member upper house, though its approval in the Labor-dominated lower house remains uncertain.
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Queensland: Katter’s Australian Party MP Robbie Katter has introduced a disallowance motion aimed at preventing nurses and midwives from prescribing medical abortions, a process known as MS-2 Step. In response, on Monday, twenty organisations, including Children by Choice, the Royal Australian and New Zealand College of Obstetricians and Gynaecologists, and MSI Australia, issued an open letter. They emphasised that these healthcare professionals often represent the sole timely option for individuals residing outside major urban centres. The letter argued that any delay in access does not prevent abortions but rather makes them “harder, later and more complex.”
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New South Wales: Libertarian MP John Ruddick is leveraging a study from Edith Cowan University, which presented indirect evidence suggesting a preference for male offspring in some migrant communities based on data from 1994 to 2015. He uses this to support his bill advocating for a ban on sex-selective abortions. However, a 2020 NSW Health review concluded that sex selection occurs “rarely.” The review of 15,973 abortions in the year ending September 2020 found only 13 were performed for sex selection. Of these, 10 were deemed “likely to be reporting errors” as they were conducted at less than nine weeks gestation, a stage where “there is no readily available and reliable way of determining gender.” Ruddick maintains that “gender selection abortions are happening” and that the law is necessary to signal societal disapproval. He posits that “If a mother still wants to abort because of their child’s sex they can obviously say it’s for any other reason and no one will know, but the law will have a positive ripple effect in cementing into our culture that baby boys and baby girls are of equal value.”
The Sydney rally on Tuesday has been organised by activist Joanna Howe, who has dubbed it a rally for “Ruth and Emma.” These names were attached to an image that Howe initially believed depicted foetuses but which was later identified as baby sugar gliders. Howe has collaborated with state and federal MPs on legislation aimed at restricting abortion access. Her personal stance is that all abortions should be prohibited, and that “everybody involved” should face criminal penalties. Pauline Hanson, leader of One Nation, has appeared on a podcast hosted by Howe and her husband, James Howe. Howe has also encouraged her substantial social media following to vote for One Nation in the Farrer byelection, despite Hanson’s public statements indicating she does not oppose first-trimester abortions – an exemption not explicitly detailed in the party’s official policy.
Dr. Flowers expresses concern regarding the volume of measures being proposed by activists, stating that people “should be alarmed.” She observes, “The pace of activity has really intensified.” She further elaborates, “We have had multiple anti-abortion initiatives and protests across multiple jurisdictions. The purpose of this incrementalism is to position it as something that should be subject to political debate, which traditionally in Australia politicians have avoided. It’s normalising the idea.”
The Australian College of Midwives (ACM) has issued a statement expressing alarm at the proposed restrictions on abortion, asserting that any such limitations “creates real harm for real women.” Adurty Rao, the chief executive of MSI Australia (formerly Marie Stopes), characterised these actions as “attempts to disrupt decades of progress toward women’s rights.” She added, “Misinformation campaigns will not deter our mission to deliver essential care to women and pregnant people seeking critical abortion services.”
