The Minister for Health and Wellbeing has announced an expansion of the Territory’s pregnancy abortion services, allowing women greater choice.
Meegan Fitzharris said that from next Monday (1 July) women seeking treatment would be able to see their local general practitioners or telehealth provider.
She said with the start of the Health (Improving Abortion Access) Amendment Act 2018 people would have more choice and safe options in choosing an abortion.
“It also means a person will be able to choose where they take the prescribed medication, making the process more personal and sensitive to individual circumstances,” Ms Fitzharris said.
“This change will also help to remove some of the barriers the ACT community faces when they are looking to access an abortion service.”
She said the ACT was historically a leader in abortion law reform by making abortion a health, not a criminal, matter and introducing exclusion zones around medical facilities providing abortion services to protect people from being harassed or targeted when attending the facilities.
“Up until now, abortions could only be provided at an approved medical facility, such as Marie Stopes, or the Canberra Hospital,” the Minister said.
“While people can still self-refer to Marie Stopes at any time, knowing they can go to a local GP or use a telehealth service within nine weeks will give a person peace of mind that a two-step medication can be arranged with a timely appointment close to home,” she said.
