Facing the prospect of election defeat, Victorian Labor is positioning abortion as a key issue as the Liberals attempt to counter claims of a potential rollback of reproductive rights. On Thursday morning, Ingrid Stitt, the state’s health minister, announced that if re-elected in November, Labor would invest $30 million over four years to eliminate out-of-pocket costs for abortion care, which can exceed $1,000.

Key Details of the Plan

Under the proposed plan, participating private providers would be compensated for delivering medical and surgical abortions up to 16 weeks’ gestation. Key features include:

  • No costs for GP and specialist consultations, scans, tests, or medication.
  • A subsidy for women in regional Victoria who must travel long distances for care.
  • Extension of access to medical abortion from nine to ten weeks’ gestation, with a clinical review to explore safe provision up to 12 weeks.

Currently, women in Victoria can obtain a termination during the first 24 weeks of pregnancy, and later with the agreement of two doctors. This election commitment represents a significant reform, building on years of efforts to enhance access to reproductive healthcare initiated by former premier Jacinta Allan and her health minister Mary-Anne Thomas.

Background and Context

The duo established 20 sexual and reproductive health hubs across Victoria, along with a mobile clinic that provides medical abortion services to women in remote areas and a virtual women’s health clinic. In its first year, nearly 60% of appointments at the virtual clinic supported medical abortion.

At a government symposium on abortion care last year, affordability was identified as a major barrier to access. Danielle Mazza, head of Monash University’s department of general practice, advocated for a model similar to the UK’s publicly funded abortion care through the NHS and Ireland’s subsidized GP services. On Thursday, Mazza stated that Labor’s announcement aligns Victoria with these jurisdictions, making it the first Australian state to provide abortion care without out-of-pocket costs, with only the ACT currently offering free services.