Orange Hospital in regional New South Wales dropped a bombshell on abortion access on Monday. A leaked document obtained by ABC found that the hospital’s execs decided to no longer provide abortions for patients without “early pregnancy complications”.
Thankfully, New South Wales Health Minister Ryan Park issued a statement on his social media today saying that the level of abortion services which has historically been provided at the facility will be restored.
Previously, both medical and surgical terminations were available to patients at Orange Health Service, regardless of their circumstances. A staff member anonymously told the ABC, “Surgical terminations were absolutely being provided here. It didn’t matter if there was a complication or not. We would find a way to provide it, if it was needed.”
However, under the new guidelines sent around the hospital at the beginning of the week, staff were required to refer women seeking terminations without medical justification to their general practitioners (GPs) or Family Planning NSW for further assistance.
The nearest Family Planning clinic is nearly two hours away and does not offer surgical terminations. Plus, it isn’t open on weekends, which would have left many people with limited options.
The guidelines were sent in a form of a flowchart that outlined referral pathways for patients seeking termination. The chart also directed staff to give patients phone numbers for counselling services from a list of three options. One option was a Queensland based organisation that, in fact, does not service NSW.
One clinician said the new guidelines essentially told people “you’re on your own if you don’t have a medical justification.”
“It’s just an opportunity for the hospital executive to say, ‘If you provide a termination for non-medical reasons, we can reprimand you’,” they told the ABC.
The hospital’s decision raises some serious concerns about access to reproductive healthcare in regional areas with only two public hospitals in NSW offering formal abortion services (and they’re both in major cities).
Family Planning NSW’s chief Sue Shilbury didn’t mince words when she called the situation “profoundly disappointing”.
“When most other states are moving towards taking on the responsibility in the public health setting where it’s appropriate … NSW Health looks like it’s moving away from it,” she told the ABC.
Abortion was finally decriminalised in NSW in 2019, with women and pregnant people able to access terminations up to 22 weeks gestation.
It seems that Health Minister Park heard that message loud and clear and shortly after the ABC reported the news he put out a post on Instagram with the caption: “Your postcode shouldn’t affect access to affordable and timely abortion service.”
The news was also confirmed by the Western NSW Local Health District, which overseas Orange Hospital.
“In line with the next steps NSW Health is taking to enhance access to safe abortion care, Western NSW LHD is also undertaking a separate assessment and review of access to services across public facilities in Western NSW,” said a spokesperson to the ABC.
This news comes at a time that abortion rights being questioned in Queensland and South Australia. It also comes in the wake of abortion access being repealed across the United States, which has just re-elected anti-abortionist Donald Trump to power.
NSW law allows for “conscientious objection” by individual health practitioners, but this does not extend to hospital executives or local health distributes.
Orange Hospital have yet to issue a statement on the report.
Lead image: Getty Images/ Canva
The post NSW Health Minister Steps In After Orange Hospital Ban Abortions For Patients Without Complications appeared first on PEDESTRIAN.TV .
