Abortion in the ACT

In the ACT, women and gender diverse people can access up to two types of abortion depending on the gestation of their pregnancy: these are medication abortion and surgical abortion.

The type of abortion someone has will depend on factors including their preference, cost, the gestation of their pregnancy and the service or practice they access an abortion from.

Medication abortion

Medication abortion is a safe and effective method for pregnancies up to 9 weeks (63 days) gestation. This is a non-surgical method of terminating a pregnancy using two medications (mifepristone and misoprostol) to induce an abortion. It is also referred to as a medical abortion.

Some people prefer medication abortion because it means they can have their abortion in the privacy and comfort of their home.

In the ACT, medication abortion is available for free at the MSI Australia clinic.

Some GPs also provide medication abortion. They may charge fees which can add up to as much as $200 for someone with a Medicare Card, and more for someone who is not Medicare eligible.

There is no publicly available list of GPs who provide abortion in NSW or the ACT so you will need to ask your GP if they do this. Some GPs will state whether they provide abortion on their website. You can call Sexual Health and Family Planning ACT or Women’s Health Matters for more information.

• Typically, a medication abortion will involve:
• A consultation with a doctor (with a GP, at a clinic or over the phone) to discuss medical history, provide time to ask questions and provide informed consent.
• Ultrasound and blood tests to confirm gestation and intrauterine pregnancy to make sure its safe for you to have a medication abortion. If you go to an abortion clinic, these scans and tests may be done at the clinic.
• If you see a GP for an abortion, you will need to go to a pharmacy to fill your prescription for the medication. It is useful to know that not all pharmacies stock abortion medication, or will have it in stock. If your GP is not sure about which pharmacies to go to, you can contact WHM for more information.
• You may take your first medication in the clinic under the supervision of a doctor, or at home after receiving it in the mail. This medication blocks the hormone progesterone which is maintaining the pregnancy.
• You take the second medication at home roughly 24-48 hours after the first medication. This medication causes the uterus to expel the pregnancy. This process usually takes 4 hours but can take up to a few days. You may have significant cramping and bleeding which is more than your normal period. The bleeding should ease within the first week, but lighter bleeding can continue for up to a month afterwards.
• You will need to take a day off work and have child care at the time the second medication is taken.
• Follow up care with the doctor to check that the abortion is complete and confirm whether additional follow up is required.

Your doctor may also discuss your contraception options with you.

Medication abortion is low risk and success rates are up to 98%. While still very low, the complication rate is slightly higher than for surgical abortion.

For more information on the medication abortion process, visit MSI Australia.

For more information on the medication involved, see NPS Medicinewise.

Sexual Health and Family Planning ACT:
Phone: 6247 3077

Women’s Health Matters:
Phone: 6290 2166

Surgical abortion

Surgical abortion is a safe and effective method available in an approved medical facility. In the ACT, surgical abortion is available up to 16 weeks gestation for free through MSI Australia.

Gynaecology Centres Australia (Queanbeyan) also provides surgical abortion, but will charge fees up to several hundred dollars for someone with a Medicare Card, and more for someone who is not Medicare eligible.

Generally, a person will have to travel to a clinic interstate for an abortion after 16 weeks. Canberra Hospital can provide abortion after 16 weeks in some cases.

Most surgical abortions are performed using a procedure called “suction (vacuum curettage) aspiration” up to 14 weeks gestation. The procedure itself takes less than ten minutes and is carried out as a day procedure. While surgical abortion can be done under local anaesthetic (which is injected into the cervix) or general anaesthetic, it is most often performed under twilight sedation, where you are effectively asleep during the procedure. Twilight sedation has few health risks and is considered safer than a general anaesthetic.

The process involves:

• Visiting a clinic where there will be free counselling.
• While procedures vary with individual clinics this will usually include admission, consultations with a nurse, an anaesthetist, and the doctor to discuss medical history, the opportunity to ask questions and to provide informed consent
• Confirmation of gestation via ultrasound and/or blood test.
• Preparation for surgery at an appointed time includes fasting beforehand. You will also be told what things you need to bring with you.
• You will then be taken to the theatre where the procedure is performed. The actual surgery itself takes only 10 to 15 minutes to perform and is done by putting a small tube through the cervix and gently removing the pregnancy tissue from the uterus using suction.
• You will then spend some time in recovery and may spend from two hours to half a day at the clinic.
• Most clinics require that you have someone to drive you home because you have had sedation.
• Post-operation you may experience some cramping and bleeding.
• Follow up care with the doctor or your regular doctor.

Surgical abortions after 12 to 14 weeks (or from the beginning of the second trimester) usually require a different procedure, sometimes involving two separate visits to the clinic, one for the cervix to be prepared and one for the procedure itself, altogether called “dilation and evacuation”.

Abortions after 14 weeks are more expensive (where fees are charged), with cost increasing with the gestation of the pregnancy.

For more information on the surgical abortion process, visit MSI Australia.

Abortion in Australia is performed by highly trained medical professionals, and in the case of surgical abortions are performed in accredited health facilities. They are one of the safest procedures available.

The complication rate for early surgical abortion is very low at around 1%. This rate rises to around 5% after 15 weeks gestation. The complication rate for medication abortion is between 2% and 5%.

If complications do occur the most common are retained products (where a small bit of pregnancy tissue remains in the uterus after the abortion, usually requiring a second procedure) and infection, which is dealt with using antibiotics. Your doctor will tell you more about the possible risks and complications in your consultation.

Abortion is free for people who live in the ACT from some prodivers. Medication and surgical abortion are available to 16 weeks gestation for free from the MSI Australia clinic.

It is free even if the woman or gender diverse person is an international student or on a temporary visa as you do not need to be enrolled in Medicare.

You will need to show some proof that you live in the ACT, for example, a Drivers Licence or a recent bill with your name on it showing your ACT address.

MSI Australia:
Phone: 1300 405 568
Online: https://www.msiaustralia.org.au/abortion-services/

Abortion is also available from other doctors and services, but it may not be free. Some GPs provide medication abortion, and Gynaecology Centres Australia clinic in Queanbeyan (NSW) provides surgical abortion up to 16 weeks gestation. The cost from these services will depend on the type of abortion, whether you have a Medicare or Health Care Card and the individual provider.

Gynaecology Centres Australia will also charge fees up to several hundred dollars for someone with a Medicare Card, and more for someone who is not Medicare eligible.

If you access medication abortion through a GP, it is important to remember that you will need to pay for appointments, scans and tests, as well as the medication. This can add up to as much as $200 for someone with a Medicare Card, and much more for someone who is not eligible for Medicare.

The medication itself will cost around $30 with a Medicare Card. Its also important to know that not all pharmacies stock medical abortion medication and not all pharmacists will dispense it.

If you want more information about GPs providing abortion and pharmacies stocking medical abortion medication, you can contact Sexual Health and Family Planning ACT or Women’s Health Matters.

Gynaecology Centres Australia:
Phone: 6299 5559
Website: https://gcaus.com.au/our-locations/canberra/

Sexual Health and Family Planning ACT:
Phone: 6247 3077

Women’s Health Matters:
Phone: 6290 2166

Studies show that the vast majority of people who have abortions (around 98 per cent) feel that they made the right decision, but it may still involve complex feelings.

How a person feels after an abortion will depend on many factors. This might include their individual circumstances, how they felt about the decision, their individual beliefs and values, if they had good support and someone to talk to, and importantly if the decision was theirs. They may feel relief, loss, sadness, regret or anger, or several different feelings.

There is no right or wrong way to feel.

Remember that hormone levels will also be changing for someone who has just had an abortion, and this can impact on how someone feels.

If a woman or gender diverse person has had problems with anxiety or depression in the past and has found the decision to have an abortion a very difficult one then they may have more difficulty and need more support during this time. This support may be from family or friends or through professional counselling.

If you or someone you know are worried about coping or would like support after an abortion, you can contact Sexual Health and Family Planning ACT for free unplanned pregnancy counselling service.

Sexual Health and Family Planning ACT: provides free non-directive, all options pregnancy counselling services for women and gender diverse people in the ACT.
Phone: 6247 3077

Protection from harassment when accessing abortion

In the ACT there are laws to keep you safe and protect you from being harassed or having your privacy invaded when accessing an abortion from a clinic. These laws create a 50m zone around an abortion clinic where no protest activity can take place.

In NSW (including Queanbeyan), there are different laws but they have a similar impact.

Abortion laws in the ACT

Accessing a safe abortion has been legal in the ACT since 2002 at any gestation, as long as it is provided by a registered medical practitioner (doctor).

Abortion in the ACT is governed by the Health Act 1993, which requires that:

• Only a registered medical practitioner may carry out abortion. Nurses can assist in providing an abortion, and pharmacists can dispense abortion medication.
• As of July 2019 the Health (Improving Abortion Access) Amendment Act 2018 allows women in ACT to access abortion medication from registered GPs in Canberra.
• For the safety of people accessing abortion services and the staff working in abortion services, the Health (Patient Privacy) Amendment 2015 put exclusion zones in place 50 meters around clinics that provide abortion services. This means those seeking medical advice and treatment can do so in privacy without harassing, obstructing, threatening, humiliating or intimidating behaviour.

Myths about abortion

As with a lot of issues, there are many myths about abortion. These are often put forward by individuals or groups who are anti-choice and run scare campaigns about abortion, or by people who are simply misinformed. As a result there is a lot of biased and inaccurate information out there, particularly online.

In reality we know that legal, safe abortion has very low complication rate and is a common procedure in Australia that forms part of women and gender diverse people’s reproductive health care.

Research has shown that there is no link between safe, legal abortion and future problems such as infertility, breast cancer, or long-term mental health problems.

In fact, we know from the Turnaway Study undertaken in the US that denying women an abortion can have significant negative economic, health and social impacts on their lives.