Source: Northern Territory Police and Fire Services
Nurse Practitioners and authorised midwives will be able to prescribe abortion medication.
ACT Nurse Practitioners and authorised midwives will be able to prescribe abortion medication.
The Health (Improved Abortion Access) Amendment Act 2024 has been passed in the ACT Legislative Assembly.
Up until now, only doctors have been allowed to prescribe abortion medication. The new legislation removes barriers to nurse practitioners and authorised midwives who choose to do so.
This follows positive changes made by the Therapeutic Goods Administration (TGA) last year.
The TGA removed restrictions on health practitioners who prescribe and dispense the abortion medication MS-2 Step (mifepristone and misoprostol).
The Bill also requires health practitioners who decline to provide abortion services – on religious or other conscientious grounds – to refer individuals to another practitioner or facility that can provide an abortion in a timely manner. Alternatively, they can give their patients information on how to find such a provider.
The amendments relating to conscientious objection bring the ACT into line with other states and territories. They balance the clients’ rights to access timely abortion care with health practitioners’ rights to not participate in the provision of services that conflict with their beliefs.
Improved access to abortion services will allow Canberrans to obtain appropriate, safe care, and to avoid potentially detrimental impacts to their mental and physical health and wellbeing.
The changes further ensure that women and people who can become pregnant can make decisions about their health care based on what is best for them and their body.
The amendments complement the ACT Government’s accessible abortions scheme, which
- supports the provision of no-cost abortions to ACT residents, including to those without access to Medicare.
- offers ACT residents free long-acting reversible contraceptives at the time of abortion, if wanted.
These no-cost services have been available through MSI Australia since April 2023.
More recently, participating general practices, pharmacies, pathology services and medical imaging services across the Territory have been included in the scheme.
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