By Melanie Sjoberg
ADELAIDE — A study of the effects of abortion on women in Australia indicates that the real trauma associated with the experience is suffered in trying to obtain information and access to abortion services, rather than as a result of the termination procedure itself.
A preliminary report of results in the study, released in March, was prepared by Margie Ripper, lecturer in women's studies at Adelaide University and Lyndall Ryan, reader in women's studies at Flinders University.
The research project was initiated following debate among feminists on the issue of abortion, sparked particularly by a statement by Siedlecky and Wyndham in their book Populate and Perish that "the history of birth control is inevitably linked with that of abortion". Siedlecky and Wyndham argued that the widespread perception of abortion as "dangerous" meant that the search for better contraception was crucial.
Other feminists engaged in abortion provision had evidence from experience that many women had "found abortion less dangerous and far more reliable than other forms of birth control." These differing conclusions inspired Ripper and Ryan's research into the experiences of women seeking abortions in Australia during the last five years.
The study compares women's experiences in the capital cities plus regional areas of Queensland, South Australia and Tasmania. The preliminary report combines personal reports with details of the legal and medical situation in each state.
The preliminary findings show a startling disparity between the states on matters such as access to services and information, including women's knowledge of the practical availability of abortion as opposed to the existence, at law, of a right to choose abortion.
Extracts from women's stories reveal that, despite the perception that abortion is readily available, it can be a difficult emotional and confronting experience fighting through the maze of excuses, delaying tactics and moralistic lecturing by some practitioners and referring agencies.
The report illustrates that women in some states have to try many doctors and referral agencies in order to find a practitioner willing to perform the abortion. These delays add further anxiety for women who realise that they are getting close to the second trimester.
One story in the preliminary report is that of a woman obliged to lie to family and friends to have other children cared for while she travelled interstate to obtain a termination. Other women reported that if they agreed to sterilisation at the same time as the termination, then doctors were more willing to carry out the abortion. mposed on many of the women indicate that more than just legislative change is necessary.
The report indicates that money and distance are still major factors preventing women's access to abortion, especially in country areas.
Margie Ripper's view is that the decision to proceed with an abortion is an empowering one for women despite the effort required (or perhaps as a result of the effort required) to challenge the medical fraternity. She also found that many women interviewed had sought abortion because of the failure of contraceptive measures, suggesting that there is still much improvement needed on that front. Ripper found that some service providers had an overly optimistic view of the infallibility of contraceptives.
These preliminary findings support the view that the availability of abortion is by no means reliable or secure. The campaign to extend a woman's right to choose needs to continue to raise awareness around these issues and to seek further consolidation of the hard-won gains of women's struggles over the last two decades.
In Adelaide Right To Life are reportedly screening anti-choice advertisements at at least one cinema. In the light of this, and the difficulties women face in obtaining information on their rights, we should be even more vigilant.