In Brief
- Anti-abortion rights advocates are accused of using sex-selective abortions to "inflame racial tensions" and target migrants.
- Abortion legislation in NSW already mandates against sex-selective abortions for non-medical reasons.
A political debate around abortion has fired up again in Australia, but some say the issue isn’t just about access – it's about autonomy.
Muktesh Chibber has dedicated her life to supporting migrant women.
The couple and family relationships psychotherapist and mediator, who provides culturally sensitive counselling, says pregnant migrant women face "enormous pressure" from spouses and extended family.
Australian data lacks a clear picture on whether migrant women have abortions at a higher or lower rate to others.
A bill recently floated in NSW would seek to legislate larger fines and jail time for doctors performing abortions based on the sex of a child.
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But Chibber said while there can be pressure in some families regarding the sex of the expected child, women are more commonly pressured about their capacity to financially contribute if pregnant. She said through her work she's been made aware of women tormented by their extended family members, pressured to terminate the pregnancy.
"They say, 'How can you be pregnant? You have to work, you have to contribute, you have to contribute to the mortgage, to the family ... we want you to work,'" she explained.
"It's quite common, I have come across women who have been through so much trauma in regard to being forced to abort their child, or their first pregnancy."
Chibber said often, expectant mothers are "left with no choice".
"They face daily harassment, trauma and exclusion ... Life becomes a constant hell."
For many, the decision to terminate leads to separation or family breakdown, said Chibber.
While not as common, Chibber said migrant women may be denied access to an abortion.
"I come across women who want to abort their pregnancy, sometimes they aren't ready for it, there are financial issues, or because there is extreme family violence," she said.
In those instances, a child may increase the opportunity for types of violence.
"They have to look after the child, they are not allowed to work, they are victims of significant financial abuse or threats of visa abuse," she said.
Family and community systems are one of the many barriers to reproductive health that migrant women face.
"Australia's abortion care system was not designed with migrant and refugee women in mind," Multicultural Centre for Women's Health CEO Dr Adele Murdolo said.
"Medicare exclusions, English-only services, and a lack of culturally safe providers aren't unfortunate side effects. They are structural features that predictably and consistently fail the same women, over and over."
She noted the excessive barriers that accompany temporary visa status and non-English speaking women.
"Migrant women are often encountering basic information about abortion laws and how to access care for the first time in the middle of a stressful situation," Murdolo said.
She believes the answer is access to "skilled, unbiased health professionals".
"They need laws which allow health care workers to provide care based on evidence-based information which can support patients to make informed decisions."
For those who do access abortion care, Chibber says postvention support is crucial.
"We can link women into services, but we have to make sure they have the capacity to access those services."
Abortion has been decriminalised in every Australian state and territory.
As of 2019, a person has the choice to terminate a pregnancy up to 22 weeks – after, approval from two health care professionals is required.
Amongst changes introduced that year was the banning of sex-selective abortions.
However, NSW Libertarian MLC John Ruddick says the measures aren’t enough.
"If a mother still wants to abort because of their child's sex, they can obviously say it's for any other reason and no one will know," he said.
Ruddick introduced a private member's bill that would see any health practitioner providing sex selective abortions slapped with fines of up to $22,000 or five years in prison.
The campaign has garnered support from federal One Nation senator Barnaby Joyce.
"This law in NSW must be passed or otherwise we all accept that sex selection is appropriate. Girls are not as good as boys," he reportedly told an anti-abortion rally on Tuesday evening.
On Wednesday, NSW Health Minister Ryan Park said there was "no evidence that sex selection is occurring" in the state.
The Greens' health spokesperson, Dr Amanda Cohn, also said the bill was "fuelled by racist and anti-immigration rhetoric".
Family Planning Australia medical education officer Dr Lucy Cho told SBS News that the bill is "another attempt by those who oppose all abortions to inflame tensions, create barriers to pregnancy options and recriminalise abortion".
Cho said the focus on sex selective abortions served "no purpose" but to "inflame racial tensions".
"Abortion legislation in NSW already mandates against sex-selective abortions for non-medical reasons," they said.
"Recent NSW data shows that abortions are very rarely performed for this reason."
A 2019 study from La Trobe University found one in six Australian women had had an abortion by their mid-30s.
The research noted that both single and married women sought abortion care, with women who already had children more likely to terminate a pregnancy than childless women.
It also found that women who have less autonomy over their reproductive health, whether due to family violence, drug use, or ineffective contraception, were more likely to receive an abortion.
If you or someone you know is impacted by family and domestic violence, call 1800RESPECT on 1800 737 732, text 0458 737 732, or visit 1800RESPECT.org.au. In an emergency, call 000.
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