‘It was very traumatic for her’: how conscientious objection hinders women’s access to abortion

Unlike most other medical procedures, abortion services come with an unusual caveat: doctors can refuse to provide it. Illustration: Greedy Hen/The Guardian

For women in certain parts of Queensland seeking an abortion, Nicole Huig knows how much can’t be taken for granted. If you live on the wrong side of the river or town, she says, “your access is completely different”. Despite the fact that abortion was decriminalised in Queensland in 2018, Huig, the counselling team leader at advocacy group Children by Choice, speaks to women every day about the financial and geographical barriers they face when attempting to access an abortion.

But cost and postcode aren’t the only barriers. Huig says conscientious objection (CO) – the legal right of doctors to refuse to perform abortion – has created real and widespread access issues for women across the state. And for one woman, it had particularly catastrophic consequences.