MP from South Australia Proposes Legislation to Address Late-Term Abortions

A South Australian (SA) politician is determined to lessen the number of pregnancies lost to late-term abortion with a bill intended to ensure babies aborted later than 27 weeks and six days survive.

Liberal Member of the Legislative Council, Ben Hood, introduced the Termination of Pregnancy (Terminations and Live Births) Amendment Bill 2024 (Bill) to the South Australian Parliament on Sept. 25.

The Bill aims to protect live, healthy, viable babies born from abortion after 28 weeks’ gestation, a point where the majority of premature babies can survive without any ongoing health issues, provided they receive adequate medical care.

Full-term abortions are now allowed in every Australian state and territory depending on circumstances.

Under Hood’s bill, women would birth a live, premature baby, then either keep the baby or place it for adoption, with 96 percent of infants born at 28 weeks likely to survive.

The current legislation allows women to terminate a pregnancy up until full-term under certain circumstances, but the life of the baby has to be ended through abortion.

Hood’s bill would see any baby that would otherwise be terminated after 27 weeks and six days required to be delivered alive and to receive care.

The only way to abort a pregnancy that is 22 weeks and six days’ gestation is via delivery, either prematurely or stillborn.

According to Hood, since the passing of South Australia’s Termination of Pregnancy Act 2021, there have been 45 late-term abortions after 22 weeks and six days on healthy babies for psychosocial reasons.

In introducing the bill, Hood said there was an important and challenging question to be asked around when a child’s right to life started to matter.

“The bill requires that after 28 weeks—the third trimester—a healthy baby is delivered alive instead of being subjected to a painful and violent injection of potassium chloride to stop its heart and be delivered stillborn,” he said.

“It does not require the mother to form a maternal relationship with the child. After early delivery, the mother has the right to relinquish the child for adoption.

“We must find a balance between choice and responsibility. If a child can survive outside the womb, they should be given that chance. This bill is about protecting the right to life for viable babies at or beyond 28 weeks.”

Women’s Forum Australia said the organisation was “deeply concerned” about the impact of abortion on women’s health and wellbeing, especially in the case of late-term terminations.

“Not only do late-term abortions present greater physical and psychological health risks to women, they are often sought by women with limited support systems who are in particularly vulnerable circumstances, including situations of domestic violence,” they said in a statement.

“Late-term abortion puts vulnerable women at even greater risk and does nothing to address the underlying issues that they are facing.”

There are also concerns late-term abortion is being used to carry out sex-selective abortions, with Women’s Forum Australia saying up to 200 million girls are missing globally due to the practice, with signs it’s happening among some ethnic communities in Australia where girls are perceived to have lesser value.

‘It’s a Whole Perfect Baby’: Midwife Testifies

A day after introducing his bill to parliament, Hood read out an anonymous testimony from a senior midwife at the Flinders Medical Centre who has had to witness viable babies born.

While the midwife wished to remain anonymous, their comments paint a bleak and depressing picture of current abortion practices.

Hood said the midwife discussed one incident where a women attended at 38 weeks’ gestation—just one week shy of full term—thinking the abortion was a “small procedure” and she could go home on the day.

“It breaks your heart to look after stillbirths and neonatal deaths. It’s completely devastating. And uses up all of your energy and compassion,” the midwife said.

“But this is next level and not what I signed up for as a midwife. We have all of SA’s late term feticides at Flinders. It’s far more common than we ever expected when the law changed.

“I could go on and on for hours about the stuff we have seen.”

The midwife said using terms such as “pregnancy” rather than “baby” when a woman was so far along was confusing for would-be mothers.

“I really struggle with feticide, it’s a whole perfect baby. None of these babies have shown any genetic abnormalities whatsoever,” the midwife said.

“This is not midwifery. I hate it so much.”

Hood said his bill was not about forcing women to become mothers, but about saving the lives of babies.

“It is about recognising that once a child has reached viability, and in its third trimester, we are responsible for protecting that life,” he said.

“The bill ensures that the mother’s decision to end her pregnancy is respected, but it is also that the child has an opportunity to live.”

SA Health Minister Chris Picton was contacted for comment.