preview

Abortion : Is It Time For Clarify Australia 's Confusing Laws?

Better Essays
Open Document
Abortion: Is it time to clarify Australia’s Confusing Laws?

In 2012 calamity displayed that even in modern times such as this, someone can enter a first-world facility and be denied an abortion that could potentially save their life. Savita Halppaanavar, a 31 year-old woman who was 17 weeks pregnant and miscarrying requested treatment at the University Hospital Galway, in Ireland. Despite the fact that Savita was miscarrying and there was no chance that the foetus would survive, she was refused termination while a foetal heartbeat lingered. Days later, when an abortion was finally performed, Savita had contracted septicaemia and it was too late; Savita died . So what does the situation look like in Australia and could such a tragedy occur…show more content…
2

• Medical Abortion
- A medical abortion is available for women wanting to terminate their pregnancy between seven and nine weeks gestation. Mifepristone or RU486, more commonly known as ‘the abortion pill’, is the most commonly used drug for this method. It is up to 98 per cent effective if used within the specified time.

How available is abortion in Australia?

In 2005 it was estimated that 83,210 abortions were performed in Australia , although Australia does not have a national data collection on the outcomes of pregnancy, the number of abortions occurring is estimated by the use of a combination of private insurance claims and Medicare statistics. It is also estimated that around one third of Australian women will experience an abortion at some point in their life.4 As stated before, there are two types of abortion available for women in Australia; medical and surgical. The continued process towards ensuring the widespread availability to medical abortion has been slow, whereas access to surgical abortion has been around considerably longer.

The Legality of Abortion in Australia

In Australia, abortion legislation is governed by each state (meaning each state may have different laws on the subject). This lack of consistency means that a woman seeking an abortion who resides in a
Get Access
Related
Get Access