Stop the attack on Abortion Care in NSW

UPDATE September 18 - We won! But the fight for abortion access continues

This is an important victory for us. Together we stopped a bill that was designed to re-criminalise abortion care and create more barriers, primarily through discouraging doctors and nurses from providing this form of healthcare to NSW women.

The NSW Legislative Council voted against John Ruddick’s Abortion Law Reform Ammendment (Sex Selection Prohibition Bill) 2025, with 21 members voting against the bill and 16 for it.

Please take a moment to thank the politicians who protected abortion access in NSW.

But this bill was not …

UPDATE September 18 - We won! But the fight for abortion access continues

This is an important victory for us. Together we stopped a bill that was designed to re-criminalise abortion care and create more barriers, primarily through discouraging doctors and nurses from providing this form of healthcare to NSW women.

The NSW Legislative Council voted against John Ruddick’s Abortion Law Reform Ammendment (Sex Selection Prohibition Bill) 2025, with 21 members voting against the bill and 16 for it.

Please take a moment to thank the politicians who protected abortion access in NSW.

But this bill was not an isolated attack. It is part of a broader strategy by anti-abortion groups to wind back abortion rights and access bit by bit. We need to remain vigilant and ensure that every politician understands that attacking abortion care will come with a political cost.

We need to take up the fight for improved access.

Legal abortion is not enough. Abortion care must be accessible and affordable. Laws alone mean little for a woman in regional NSW who cannot access care in her community and must travel long distances, or a single mother who cannot pay $500 for a medication abortion.

NSW has some of the worst access to abortion care in Australia, with only 4.9% of terminations provided through the public system. This contrasts with states like South Australia where virtually all abortion care is provided through the public system. A woman seeking abortion care in NSW is likely to pay more and have to travel further to access this care.

With the NSW election approaching, now is the time to tell politicians that protecting abortion rights is only the beginning. Every woman should be able to access timely and affordable abortion care, whatever her postcode.

Campaign Update September 14 2026

A bill seeking to re-criminalise abortion care could pass the NSW Upper House this Wednesday. The numbers for the vote are extremely close.

There is a very strong chance that this bill will pass this week

The bill's architect, MLC John Ruddick, has been clear that his aim is to make abortion harder to access in NSW, describing the bill as:

“The beginning of reversing the tide against radical abortion laws that we currently have in New South Wales.”

Unlike John, most of us believe a woman should have the freedom to make the healthcare decisions that shape her life and her future.

If passed, this bill would send doctors and nurses to jail for up to five years for providing abortion care for sex selective purposes.

This would mean less doctors willing to provide abortion care; more interrogation of patients; and denial of critical care for those who can’t prove their need for abortion care isn’t sex-selective.

There is little evidence that sex-selective abortion is a real issue in Australia - and NSW Health already has policies against sex selection.

Gender inequality and discrimination are not solved by making women justify their personal medical decisions.

With the vote expected to be close, every message makes a difference

Will you urgently tell members of the NSW Legislative Council to reject this bill and keep abortion care out of the criminal code.

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Email NSW Legislative Council Members

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Subject:

I am deeply concerned about John Ruddick’s Sex Selective abortion bill that is currently before the NSW Legislative Council.

I believe that people in NSW should have access to safe and legal abortion care when and where they need it; and that the current laws provide the right framework.

I am worried that this bill will make abortion care harder to access in NSW.

I am particularly concerned that the bill threatens doctors and nurses with criminal penalties, which could make healthcare workers fearful about providing abortion care at all.

The sex of a fetus can be determined from 10 weeks gestation. If passed, this bill would create a situation where doctors could face the prospect of criminal penalties if they can’t prove a patient wasn’t seeking an abortion for sex-selective purposes.

This will inevitably result in more doctors unwilling to provide abortion care due to the risk; more interrogation of patients when they do; and denial of critical care for patients.

Imagine you’re a doctor, a young woman presents seeking abortion care - she is clearly distressed; has left an unsafe situation; and feels trapped by the pregnancy.  However, you can’t prove she doesn’t know the sex of the fetus. Do you take the risk of being sent to prison, to provide her with the care she so obviously needs?

There are also some devastating, sex-linked health conditions. The ban could discourage a patient who is a carrier of a sex-linked condition from having honest, confidential conversations about her concerns with her doctor, out of fear that she will be denied the ability to make decisions about what is best for her or their family.

Please vote against this bill and protect access to safe abortion care in NSW.

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