Tuesday, 29 October 2024

 Sarah MANSFIELD (Western Victoria) (12:56): (1184) My question is for the Minister for Health. Access to abortion is still highly limited in many parts of Victoria. Over two-thirds of Victorian local government areas have no surgical termination of pregnancy providers listed with the statewide support line 1800 My Options. This is particularly the case for people seeking a termination in Western Victoria, made apparent by recent research undertaken by Women’s Health and Wellbeing Barwon South West and Deakin University. On average, people seeking medical termination in Glenelg shire, for example, travel 49 minutes for an appointment. But this can reach up to 2 hours, and it takes almost just as long to access a contraceptive implant. Minister, will you urgently expand access to low- and no-cost abortion in Western Victoria in line with the growing evidence of extremely limited access?