Abortion is legal across Australia and widely recognised as healthcare. But over the past few weeks, a cluster of proposed laws and political moves in Queensland, South Australia and New South Wales has put access back in the spotlight.
None of these changes have fully reshaped the law (yet), but they point to a broader shift: abortion access is being debated again, state by state, in ways that could make it harder to access care.
Here’s what’s actually going on.
Queensland abortion rights
In Queensland, the most recent flashpoint centred on a disallowance motion from Katter’s Australian Party MP Robbie Katter, which targeted regulations around abortion medication.
The motion focused on MS-2 Step, a medication used for early medical abortion, and raised concerns about who should be able to prescribe it. Katter argued the regulation changes affected training requirements and access, saying parliament should be able to “bring it back in here and block it”.
But the state government rejected that framing. Health Minister Tim Nicholls said the motion was “misinformed, misconceived and possibly wilfully misrepresents” the amendments, adding that the requirements had not changed “in form or substance”.
The motion was ultimately defeated 85 votes to two.
Even so, the situation is more complicated than a single failed vote. Premier David Crisafulli has already placed a moratorium on debating abortion laws during the government’s first term, which meant this motion became a workaround to reopen the conversation.
Advocacy groups say the stakes are practical. Children by Choice warned that limiting who can prescribe abortion medication would hit regional communities hardest, stating: “For many Queenslanders outside major cities, nurse practitioners and endorsed midwives are not just the most accessible healthcare providers, they are often the only timely option available.”
They also stressed that restricting access does not reduce demand, adding: “Delays caused by unnecessary restrictions do not prevent abortions. They make them harder, later, and more complex.”
South Australia abortion rights
South Australia is once again considering changes to its abortion laws, with upper house MP Sarah Game introducing a bill to limit access after 25 weeks.
Under current laws, abortions after 23 weeks can occur with the approval of two doctors if there is significant risk to the pregnant person’s physical or mental health. The proposed bill would remove mental health as a factor and narrow access to cases where the person’s life is at risk.
Game has said parliament should “protect vulnerable human life” and have an “honest conversation about where South Australia draws the line”.
Medical experts strongly disagree. The Royal Australian and New Zealand College of Obstetricians and Gynaecologists (RANZCOG) says these cases are rare and often involve serious medical circumstances. In 2024, these later abortions accounted for about one per cent of abortions in the state.
RANZCOG president Dr Nisha Khot warned in a statement, “Restricting access after 25 weeks does nothing but increase harm and distress.
“It risks delaying care, compounding trauma, and forcing patients into situations that compromise both their wellbeing and dignity.”
This is the third attempt to change the state’s laws in under two years, and while previous bills have failed, shifts in the upper house mean the outcome is uncertain.
New South Wales abortion rights
In New South Wales, a separate bill is taking a different approach. Libertarian MP John Ruddick has proposed banning abortions carried out for sex selection, with penalties of up to five years in prison for healthcare providers.
The bill has drawn support from some anti-abortion campaigners. Speaking at a rally outside of NSW Parliament yesterday, Barnaby Joyce told attendees: “You must keep that fire burning for those people who can’t stand up for themselves and I call them people — they’re not fetuses.”
But critics say the bill is based on a problem that doesn’t exist. NSW Health Minister Ryan Park said on ABC radio Sydney there is “no evidence that sex selection is occurring in New South Wales” and made clear he would not support it.
“I don’t want to see abortion back into the criminal code,” he said. “It would make it the only part of healthcare that is done through that type of criminality and I don’t want to see that.”
Medical bodies have echoed that concern, with RANZCOG describing the proposal as “prioritising misinformation over medical evidence”.
Why this moment matters?
Taken together, these debates point to a broader question: who gets access to abortion care, under what conditions, and who gets to decide?
Right now, abortion remains legal across Australia, and none of these proposals have changed that. But recent history shows how quickly things can shift. In the United States, Roe v. Wade was overturned in 2022 after nearly 50 years, leading to sweeping state-level bans and restrictions.
Closer to home, repeated attempts to change laws in places like South Australia show that access is still actively contested.
It doesn’t mean similar changes are inevitable here. But it does make one thing clear: abortion access in Australia isn’t a settled issue, and it’s continuing to be shaped in real time.
Lead image: Getty
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