News, articles and position statements. Follow us on Twitter @msi_australia
This week the Royal Commission into Violence, Abuse, Neglect and Exploitation of People with Disability has heard about women and girls with disability being abused and actively denied their sexual and reproductive rights. Double standards still exist across the healthcare sector which expect women with disability to tolerate a level of violence in their own homes at higher rates than …
The Western Australian Government has today legislated safe access zones to protect patients and staff accessing sexual and reproductive health services . The passage of Public Health Amendment (Safe Access Zones) Bill 2021 means women and pregnant people in every state and territory are now protected against intimidation and harassment when accessing abortion services. Each year picketers spend approximately 2,295 …
Western Australia (WA) passed another milestone in working towards safe access to abortion care. Yesterday the Public Health Amendment (Safe Access Zones) Bill 2021 was passed in the WA Legislative Assembly (lower house). WA will be the last jurisdiction in Australia to legislate safe access zones. Safe access zones prevent picketing within 150 metres of abortion care clinics. When it …
It is with our deepest regret that we need to announce the closure of our clinics in Southport, Townsville and Rockhampton in Queensland, and Newcastle in New South Wales at the end of August. This is not a decision we have made lightly. We have exhausted all possible options and extended our tenure for as long as we could. This …
Harassment and intimidation of clients and staff outside of our clinics may soon be a thing of the past, following moves towards safe access zones in Western Australia (WA). Today the Public Health Amendment (Safe Access Zones) Bill 2021 will be reintroduced in the WA Legislative Assembly. The Public Health Amendment (Safe Access Zones) Bill 2020 had passed in the …
Victorian investment promises increased sexual and reproductive health access The Victorian State Budget delivers timely investment in healthcare with a lens on diversity. Funding towards gender-responsive budgeting measures is a welcome addition, with the potential to increase sexual and reproductive health access, equity and agency. The $3.8 billion investment in mental health is applauded, an essential investment in the pandemic …
The Budget delivers promising telehealth reforms but we need further investment If the Government is serious about the National Women’s Health Strategy, we will need further investment in abortion care to ensure proposed measures succeed. Federal Budget announcements this week include promising telehealth reforms, and highlights a mixture of benefits and gaps in other areas of sexual and reproductive health. …
The Government has announced investments of $353.9 million over the next 4 years for women’s health as part of the 2021-22 Budget. It is not yet clear if, how and where this investment will fund equity and access in abortion care. This investment is linked to the five priority areas of the National Women’s Health Strategy 2020–2030 and the improvement …
MSI Australia congratulates Fiona Patten MP and her office for the adjournment asking for nurse-led medical abortion care. Fiona Patten MP tabled the adjournment in Victorian Parliament on Thursday, 29 April. The adjournment was consistent with the recommendations in the Legislative Scan we published last year that called for legislative reform to enable nurse-led medical abortion care and is consistent …
MEDIA RELEASE 22 April 2021 Today we have published a report sharing our impact during 2020. We started 2020 with a vision about how we would continue advancing our mission in Australia with a keen focus on delivering Your Choice, No Matter What. When the pandemic was called and we initiated a crisis management team structure, our goal for the …
MEDIA RELEASE South Australia (SA) is the latest Australian jurisdiction to formally decriminalise abortion, after the state’s upper house passed new laws on 3 March. The passing of the Termination of Pregnancy Bill came quickly after the lower house passed the legislation 29 votes to 15 in February. It was then sent back to the upper house for final approval, …
MEDIA RELEASE In the early hours of this morning, the House of Assembly passed the Termination of Pregnancy Bill (the Bill). It’s a historic move for South Australia- the Bill will remove provisions from the criminal code which mean women and pregnant people can still be charged for obtaining an unlawful abortion. After more than 20 hours of debate, the …
MEDIA STATEMENT 9AM AEDT WEDNESDAY 25 NOVEMBER REPRODUCTIVE COERCION: HIDDEN FORCES REVISITED In acknowledgement of the International Day for the Elimination of Violence Against Women, which is today, MSI Australia has released the second edition of Hidden Forces: a white paper on reproductive coercion in Australia. Reproductive coercion is behaviour that interferes with the autonomy of a person to make decisions about their …
MEDIA STATEMENT 10AM AWST/12.30PM ACDT FRIDAY 13 NOVEMBER AUSTRALIA ON TRACK FOR NATIONAL SAFE ACCESS TO ABORTION CARE This week has seen significant advances for safe access to healthcare in Australia. Safe access zones were legislated in South Australia on Wednesday when the Health Care (Safe Access) Amendment Bill 2020 (‘The SA Bill’) was passed. Safe access zones are another step closer to becoming law in Western Australia due to the Public Health Amendment (Safe …
MEDIA STATEMENT 10.00AM AEDT THURSDAY 12 NOVEMBER BIG CHANGES IN A NEW STRATEGY – THE NEW TEAM TO SEE IT THROUGH This year has been a challenge for so many organisations and people. At MSI Australia (MSA), we spent this time focused on two core objectives. Making sure: We continue to provide essential abortion care services to people living in …
