Page 3841 - Week 10 - Wednesday, 19 September 2018
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Given that it is not yet available in the ACT, this group of young, astute women decided to build a campaign for reform and started gathering experiences, support and evidence to convince policymakers to get on board and get with the times. This is what they told me:
Abortion in the ACT is expensive. It is available at one location only, a private one.
It is assumed that if patients can’t afford to access the health service, they will just have to find a way to get the money.
Patients have a small window of time to get the procedure, and even for people who aren’t experiencing financial hardship, more than $500 is a lot of money to come up with without any notice, in a short period of time.
Covering necessary medical treatment at short notice is exactly what Medicare is for …
Madam Speaker, I am always proud to reflect on the merits of Medicare and why Labor built Medicare. We will always support and protect its existence.
Continuing, I was told this:
So the idea that ACT patients might be late on their bills, have to travel interstate, or compromise their patient confidentiality by asking friends or family for money is unacceptable.
And so we decided to take a road trip to Victoria—a jurisdiction that does allow GPs to provide medical abortion.
The Doctors and Nurses that we visited were vocal in their unwavering commitment to provide accessible and affordable reproductive health services.
The system that these Doctors and Nurses described has had enormous success. They’ve been able to substantially reduce expenses to the patient and the clinic without compromising patient health.
They’ve been able to service a wider geographical area because they’ve cut travel necessities. In turn this has also cut the patient’s associated costs, such as accommodation, time off work, childcare, transport, and company to attend appointments.
At conferences, these health professionals have been able to turn to their colleagues who aren’t providing medical abortion and say, “You’re not trying.”
To those who’ve said “it’s not possible” these Doctors and Nurses have replied “pick up your game”. To those who have said it’s not safe, not viable, or not meaningful to provide this service, they have simply gone out and proven them wrong.
This account relates to a GP clinic in Victoria which is able to provide this service because the Victorian government has made GP-prescribed medical abortion legal.
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