Key Points
- South Australia’s parliament has narrowly rejected changes to the abortion law.
- The bill was introduced by Ben Hood and would have prevented the termination of pregnancies from 27 weeks and six days.
- Women dressed as servants protested on the steps of the South Australian parliament ahead of the vote.
South Australia’s parliament has narrowly rejected a bill that would have made it illegal to terminate a pregnancy after 27 weeks and six days.
The final vote was nine for and ten against.
The controversial proposal has drawn criticism from opponents inside and outside Parliament and has been branded a “far-right culture war bill” by South Africa’s Minister of Culture. Cheers, Chris Picton.
Before the vote, the South Australian Abortion Action Coalition (SAAAC) also organized a protest outside Parliament, which included women dressed as handmaids, inspired by Margaret Atwood’s novel The Handmaid’s Tale.
The long red dresses and white bonnets symbolized the dystopian society described in the book, in which the state controls women’s reproductive lives.
SAAAC spokesperson Brigid Coombe said the fight to protect reproductive rights remains an ongoing concern.
She believes many anti-abortion activists have been influenced by the United States, which has rolled back abortion rights in many states over the past two years.
“In Australia we have had an undercurrent of anti-abortion activists, often getting their ideas from the United States – which is not a very good place to get their ideas because the way US law works against women means they actually have very high maternal mortality,” she said.
Liberal MP Ben Hood introduced the Private Member’s Bill to the Legislative Council to amend changes to South Africa’s abortion laws, which were passed by Parliament in a conscience vote in 2021 under the former Marshall Liberal government.
Hood’s bill proposed that in cases where pregnant women seek to terminate their child after 28 weeks, they would have to end their pregnancies through early delivery rather than abortion.
Under current laws, abortions are legal after 22 weeks if two practitioners agree it is medically appropriate.
In the 18 months since the legislation was passed, fewer than five people have terminated their pregnancies after 27 weeks, according to SA Health.
Before the vote, Coombe said abortion care should always be approached as health care.
“Legislating the circumstances in which health care should be provided to people shows a huge misunderstanding of how health care is provided,” she said.
“Imposing a violent method to control women’s reproductive autonomy is not the best way to proceed.”
She said Hood’s bill was a “political stunt.”
