South Australia was the first Australian state to move away from dangerous backyard abortions, making abortion safe, publicly accessible and lawful back in 1969.
Ours is a state where for many decades abortion access has been safe and publicly available for over 50 years and this position has been broadly supported by most of the community. In 2022 the laws were modernised to fully remove abortion from the criminal code. The current laws now provide strict guidelines for the circumstances under which abortion may occur after 22 weeks and 6 days. They were based on extensive consultation by the SA Law Reform Institute (SALRI) and informed by medical expertise.
In September 2024, Liberal Upper House MLC, Ben Hood, sought to turn back the clock when he introduced a harmful bill that seeks impose significant restrictions on individuals’ right to access abortion in South Australia.
Abortion care is health care and so decisions should be left to the pregnant person and their medical team. Not decided by a politician who will never himself even be in this situation. These are very complex, often heart-breaking, cases. We can never know every situation another person will confront.
The Ben Hood Bill, if passed, would mandate require people seeking to terminate a pregnancy from 27 weeks and six days, to be induced and forced to deliver the foetus instead. Claiming that would then lead to adoption. This forced live birthing would happen regardless of the circumstances of either the pregnant person or the foetus. It would roll back the approach taken under decriminalisation that it is the medical professionals and the pregnant person who righty should make these difficult decisions, free of the fear of criminal punishment and guided instead by medical, not political, imperatives.
Mr Hood ignores the reality that no one gets to this point of a medical team considering this necessary without it being a terrible and desperately sad situation. He thinks he knows best and is taking their decision making away.
Join us in urging your parliamentary representative to oppose this legislation and instead advocate for reproductive justice and policies that will benefit South Australians – not strip away our rights to healthcare.
South Australia was the first Australian state to move away from dangerous backyard abortions, making abortion safe, publicly accessible and lawful back in 1969.
Ours is a state where for many decades abortion access has been safe and publicly available for over 50 years and this position has been broadly supported by most of the community. In 2022 the laws were modernised to fully remove abortion from the criminal code. The current laws now provide strict guidelines for the circumstances under which abortion may occur after 22 weeks and 6 days. They were based on extensive consultation by the SA Law Reform Institute (SALRI) and informed by medical expertise.
In September 2024, Liberal Upper House MLC, Ben Hood, sought to turn back the clock when he introduced a harmful bill that seeks impose significant restrictions on individuals’ right to access abortion in South Australia.
Abortion care is health care and so decisions should be left to the pregnant person and their medical team. Not decided by a politician who will never himself even be in this situation. These are very complex, often heart-breaking, cases. We can never know every situation another person will confront.
The Ben Hood Bill, if passed, would mandate require people seeking to terminate a pregnancy from 27 weeks and six days, to be induced and forced to deliver the foetus instead. Claiming that would then lead to adoption. This forced live birthing would happen regardless of the circumstances of either the pregnant person or the foetus. It would roll back the approach taken under decriminalisation that it is the medical professionals and the pregnant person who righty should make these difficult decisions, free of the fear of criminal punishment and guided instead by medical, not political, imperatives.
Mr Hood ignores the reality that no one gets to this point of a medical team considering this necessary without it being a terrible and desperately sad situation. He thinks he knows best and is taking their decision making away.
Join us in urging your parliamentary representative to oppose this legislation and instead advocate for reproductive justice and policies that will benefit South Australians – not strip away our rights to healthcare.