The Australian government is accused of giving payments of $4,225 Australian dollars (around $2,770 USD or £2,060 GBP) to women who have late-term abortions.

The payment is the result of a legal loophole by which mothers who meet income requirements are eligible to access a one-off payment if they experience a stillbirth. According to government policy, “to be considered stillborn, a baby also had to have a gestation period of at least 20 weeks or weighed at least 400 grams at their birth.”

Abortion is legal in all nine jurisdictions in Australia upon request, and with the approval of two doctors, it is permitted up until birth. In South Australia, 80 per cent of late-term abortions end the lives of healthy babies, leading some to suspect that the stillbirth payment is being claimed in these cases. Dr Joanna Howe, a senior lecturer in law at the University of Adelaide and a prominent pro-life advocate, first raised the alarm after members of the medical profession contacted her to inform her of the practice.