While abortion is now decriminalised in Victoria, access barriers ensure this procedure is being delayed and denied by stealth, and the Victorian government must urgently pull every lever to address this crisis.
A joint report into abortion accessibility in Victoria, issued by Animal Justice Party MP Georgie Purcell and Legalise Cannabis MP Rachel Payne, has called for medical and surgical abortions to be made free to every Victorian, including for people without access to Medicare.
The report found that affordability remains one of the most significant barriers to accessing abortion care with procedures ranging anywhere from hundreds to thousands of dollars. Further, while Victoria currently offers support for people traveling for health procedures under the Victorian Patient Transport Assistance Scheme, this scheme excludes access to medical abortions.
Most concerningly, the report found that while abortion is legal in Victoria, some healthcare providers are still blocking access with delays, stigma, judgement and even outright refusal to provide care.
They lost the legal battle and have seemingly shifted the terrain to access. What some providers call “conscientious objection” we call the anti-choice agenda spreading by stealth. Professionals such as lawyers, police officers and teachers do not get to refuse service based on their religious beliefs or morals, and nor should health care providers.
The joint report is available in full but in short, it calls on the Victorian government to:
- Make medical and surgical abortion free and easy to access
- Expand surgical abortion provision in publicly funded hospitals
- Extend the deadline for medical abortions from nine to 12 weeks
- Establish an oversight mechanism to monitor conscientious objections in Victoria
- End “corporate conscientious objection” by removing the ability of publicly funded hospitals to refuse to provide reproductive health services, including abortion care
- Funding to upskill healthcare providers in abortion care
Download a copy of the Abortion Access Report:
Quotes attributable to Animal Justice Party MP Georgie Purcell
“None of my abortions have been easy, accessible or affordable. It’s clear we need change, and fast. “Proceeding with a pregnancy, as I currently am, has only strengthened my long-held view in the right to choose.
“Everyone’s abortion story is different, but they are all valid. We should be doing all in our power to ensure we are not compounding what is already a distressing and overwhelming experience by adding even more barriers.
“We must never be complacent when the noise from the anti-choice idiots continues to louden in Australia as they become more emboldened by conservative voices at home and abroad.”
Quotes attributable to Legalise Cannabis MP Rachel Payne
“I am unequivocally pro-choice. Others can make their own judgements about abortion care – I really don’t care – but they do not have the right to make those judgements for me or anyone else.”
“Conscientious objection results in delayed and denied care. Imagine a world where lawyers refuse clients they deem “immoral”, teachers object to working with “disreputable” families, or police officers refuse to attend jobs they consider “wrong”.
“To work in public health is to serve the needs of all patients and if you are not prepared to do that, you’re in the wrong profession.”
Published Monday the 6th of October 2025
