Protests this week in the US marked what would have been the 50th anniversary of Roe v Wade, which was overturned by the Supreme Court in June last year.
But the head of policy and research for abortion and contraception provider MSI Australia, Bonney Corbin, said conversations about abortion in Australia had improved since Roe v Wade was overturned.
"We've seen more action and reforms in the past six months than we did probably in the six years prior," Ms Corbin said.
She said since the decision, conversations had opened at every level of government in Australia.
In May 2021, the previous federal government under Health Minister Greg Hunt released the National Women's Health Strategy, which affirmed universal access to abortion by 2030 and gained bipartisan support.
"[Roe v Wade] has been a really great chance to revisit that strategy, to look at the fact that we are now three years into it, and we really haven't acted on it in the way that we've needed to," Ms Corbin said.
"We've reduced that stigma around kitchen tables, between each other, and just opening up those everyday conversations about abortion … overall Australia is headed in the right track."
Could it happen here?
Ms Corbin said she would never say never with regard to the likelihood of abortion rights being backtracked in Australia.
But she said there were notable differences between approaches to abortions here and in the US.
"It's a total tragedy what's happening in the US and it's one of those things about two steps forward, one step backward [for] progress," she said.
"We have got a sort of framework here that is supportive of abortion access, which is a key difference between Australia and the US."
Ms Corbin said backtracking on abortion access in Australia was something more likely to happen at a local level, as each region had its own approach.
"Barriers can be enacted regionally and can create some sort of postcode lottery, where for some people in Australia abortion might be free and accessible through their direct GP, while in other parts of Australia they might need to travel overnight and pay up to $8,000," she said.
Barriers still exist in regional Victoria
Rural Doctors Association of Victoria president Daniel Wilson provides medical and surgical termination options in regional Victoria.
He said women still faced stigma in accessing termination services.
"I've had women travel two hours in Victoria to come and see me in my private practice," he said.
"They've never met me before, but they've found me listed as a termination care provider.
"The receptionist who takes those bookings often needs to almost speak in codes to understand what kind of appointment [they] actually need and women are often really hesitant to say, 'I'm booking with Dr Wilson for pregnancy choices'."
Medical terminations involve the prescription of two pills, Mifepristone and Misoprostol.
Once women have the prescription it can be challenging to find a pharmacist locally who is also a registered provider.
"My patients are driving at least 30 to 40, if not 60 minutes to the next pharmacy," Dr Wilson said.
He said not many general practitioners were trained in termination of pregnancy care.
MSI Australia data shows in regional Victoria there are 1,054 doctors trained to prescribe medical termination medication, which means there is one trained GP for every 1,083 women of a child-bearing age.
Dr Wilson said there were many complex reasons why doctors may not want to provide terminations, in which case they were obliged to refer patients to a doctor who would provide access.
Others might not want to become a prescriber as they would need to do unpaid training, he said.
"There needs to be greater support for GPs to become upskilled in all aspects of women's health," Dr Wilson said.
"I would say that, unfortunately, the training through medical school is inadequate, and then the professional development ongoing is often inadequate to meet the needs of women."
He said he would like to think Australia could reach universal access to abortion by 2030.
"It requires … collectively for us as a group of Victorians, for us as a healthcare profession, to help break down the stigma around the conversations of abortion and allow women to feel safe."
