Qualified nurses and midwives, not just doctors, in Queensland can now perform medical abortions with the drug MS2-Step.
The policy, which came into effect on Sept. 3, is aimed at increasing abortion access in rural and regional areas.
The move means medical professionals can now prescribe MS-2 Step, which consists of two drugs—mifepristone and misoprostol—and can be taken up to 63 days’ gestation.
Mary Collier, CEO of Right to Life Australia, questioned the benefit of widening access to the procedure.
“In rural and remote areas limited or no access to emergency health care—not uncommon in outback Queensland—may potentially place patients’ health at risk,” she told The Epoch Times.
“Who benefits from this? The public must hold to account companies and abortionists who benefit financially from the destruction of human life.”
Collier also pointed to a submission by the CEO of the Australian Medical Association Queensland, Brett Dale, who outlined all the tools medical practitioners need to properly assess whether an abortion is needed.
These include being able to tell the date of a pregnancy, scan for an ectopic pregnancy, as well as access to local emergency care, which is often two hours away.
“Unfortunately, it is often the case in rural and remote areas that patients do not have this access and even medical practitioners cannot safely prescribe MToP (medical termination of pregnancy) medicines,” Collier said, saying it could put patients at risk.
With a state election due in October, Cherish Life CEO Matthew Cliff said abortion was a topic voters should pay attention to.
“We’ve obviously got an election coming up and the key for us is we want people to vote the right way,” Cliff told The Epoch Times. “We’re calling on people to put life first.”
Part of a Wider Action Plan
The Queensland legislation comes on the back of the state’s Termination of Pregnancy Action Plan 2032, which commits $41.8 million into increasing abortion access and workforce numbers.Minister for Health and Women Shannon Fentiman said every Queensland woman deserved access to early abortions.
“Access to timely termination services is a basic human right and a significant health issue,” she said in a statement.
“And we know that people in rural and remote regions of our vast state face significant barriers to accessing these vital services.”
Fentiman said early abortion access would help negate the need for later-term abortions.
The Miles government will also recruit up to 22 full-time equivalent clinicians to increase abortion access.
Queensland Nurses and Midwives’ Union Secretary Sarah Beaman commended Labor for its move.
“Queensland women have the right to autonomy, choice of provider, and recognition of their reproductive rights,” she said.
