April will mark two years since the ACT became the first Australian jurisdiction to offer free abortions. Demand has grown since the scheme was introduced, and the challenge now is keeping up with demand. The change has had some unintended consequences, including a stark contrast in access between women in Canberra and those living across the border.
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TVTranscript
00:00For 15 years, it's been Annie Collins welcoming women into the abortion clinic in Queanbeyan.
00:09I love it because every day is different.
00:11But she fears her days supporting patients here are numbered.
00:16So we would be doing 15 to up to 21 terminations a week.
00:21Now we're down to maybe 3, 5, 7 perhaps.
00:25The dramatic drop has pushed the clinic to the brink of closure.
00:29And it's the availability of free abortions over the border in the ACT that's to blame.
00:35Because women who can are understandably choosing the no-cost option.
00:40A medical abortion can cost up to $400, while a surgical procedure can be more than $2,000.
00:48To be eligible for a free abortion, a patient must live in Canberra.
00:53In the first 14 months, more than 1,500 people access the no-cost scheme.
00:59Either through MSI, formerly Marie Stopes, or a participating doctor.
01:04And demand is expected to double this financial year.
01:08From here, the challenge is how we sustain it, how we look at sustainable funding, how
01:13we meet demand for the model, how we support our GPs in the community and MSI to do that.
01:18A Canberra GP, Jessica Titterman, sees the publicly funded service as a huge win for
01:24the capital, but is deeply concerned about the abortion clinic in Queanbeyan closing
01:29its doors.
01:30It is a really unfortunate, I'm sure, unintended consequence that then further limits, if that
01:40service does close or is no longer able to continue providing these services, further
01:46limits choice.
01:48And Dr Titterman says a stark inequity has also emerged between women who live as little
01:54as 10 kilometres apart.
01:57I think this is particularly stark because, you know, Queanbeyan is so close to Canberra
02:03and so many of the surrounding New South Wales towns where we often have a more fluid relationship
02:10for healthcare, and this is a hard line that has been drawn.
02:16The closure of the Queanbeyan clinic would likely prompt a jump in demand at MSI Canberra,
02:22which is already at capacity.
02:24We could take on more people, but we would also need to get more doctors.
02:29Which is not an easy thing in Canberra.
02:31No, that's right.
02:32The ACT government told the ABC access to abortion services for New South Wales residents
02:38is a matter for the New South Wales government.
02:41A spokesman for the New South Wales Health Minister, Ryan Park, said more than $4 million
02:46had been allocated to improving abortion care, but failed to clarify whether any of that
02:53funding would support the clinic in Queanbeyan or women living across the border.