Push to stop NSW hospitals opting out of abortions as healthcare ‘deserts’ exposed

Greens MP Dr Amanda Cohn says ‘far too little has changed’ since abortion was decriminalised in NSW five years ago

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Public hospitals should not be able to “opt out of” providing abortions, according to the Greens MP Dr Amanda Cohn, who said despite abortion being decriminalised in New South Wales five years ago “far too little has changed”.

Her comments came in response to data published by Guardian Australia on Tuesday that shows just three public hospitals in the state provide surgical abortion outside of emergencies. The majority of the state’s cities and towns are “abortion deserts”, meaning the nearest service is more than 160km away, obfuscated, and often costly.