Jacinta Allan is warning that the battle for abortion rights must continue as conservative forces pose “real and genuine threats to the protections women have fought for and won” amid “frightening” debate in South Australia and Queensland.
Victoria’s Labor premier made her strongest comments to date on abortion in an interview with Guardian Australia, just days before Queenslanders go to the polls in an election that has become dominated by the issue.
“I am deeply concerned that things that women, and men, have fought for for decades – in terms of strengthening the protections around women’s right to choose, women’s right to control their reproductive choices – is being used as a political tool,” she said.
“But even worse, there are real and genuine threats to the protections women have fought for and won. Legislation to protect their rights is being looked at being torn down at too many opportunities by conservative politicians.”
Abortion has been fully decriminalised in all Australian states and territories. Medical abortion is available until nine weeks’ gestation, while surgical abortion rules vary from 16 weeks in the Australian Capital Territory to 24 weeks in Victoria.
During the Queensland election campaign, Katter’s Australian party has promised to force a vote on a bill that would give registered health practitioners a duty to “provide medical care and treatment to a person born as a result of a termination”.
The KAP leader, Robbie Katter, has said he would consider introducing stronger legislation depending on how many conservative Liberal National party MPs are elected on Saturday.
The LNP leader, David Crisafulli, has been dogged by the issue for weeks and has refused to say whether he would grant his MPs a conscience vote.
This month in SA, legislation introduced by a Liberal frontbencher to force women seeking later terminations to be induced, deliver the babies alive and keep them or adopt them out was narrowly defeated by 10 votes to nine.
In Canberra on Tuesday the Coalition senator Jacinta Nampijinpa Price told Nine newspapers there should be a national debate on the issue and likened late-stage abortions to infanticide.
Jane Hume, Sussan Ley and Bridget McKenzie – three of the most senior women in the Coalition – flatly rejected putting abortion on the national agenda, saying it was an issue for states and territories.
Allan said events had proved the issue was not confined to the political fringes.
“We’ve seen it in South Australia, in Queensland, this federal intervention from a federal senator … you look at what’s happening in the US,” she said.
“The message that sends to women, it’s frightening. It says all that work that has been done to protect your rights, to support your choice, is at risk every single day from these conservative forces.”
Allan said she would “fight for women to have their right to have their control over their bodies”.
She acknowledged that there was more work to do in Victoria, despite it being a leader in Australia in terms of access to sexual and reproductive health services.
“I know that, particularly for regional women, access to services can be a real challenge,” Allan said.
A report by Women’s Health Victoria published on Thursday found that seven out of 10 local government areas have no surgical abortion provider and one in five have no medical abortion provider.
The government said it had established 20 sexual and reproductive health hubs across the state, including in Ararat, Horsham and Melton – areas the report identified as having the highest rates of women seeking abortion.
The hubs offer medical abortion care and referral pathways for surgical abortion. Endorsed midwives have also been given the power to prescribe medical abortions and make referrals.
Work is under way to expand access to abortion in public hospitals, while Guardian Australia understands an announcement on the issue is also due soon.
