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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.
Recalling one particularly harrowing story, she told the Adelaide Advertiser: “One midwife was in tears over the phone telling me of a mother who had aborted her healthy 28-week-old baby and was intending to use the payment for a holiday in Bali.”
The South Australian Abortion Action Coalition (SAAAC), a pro-abortion organisation, admitted to supporting the payment being available for those who choose abortion. A spokesperson for the group said that it treats “abortion care as healthcare and recognises the complex impacts on patients who need to access a termination of pregnancy after 20 weeks.”
Almost 100,000 abortions took place across Australia last year. In February 2025, the Abortion Reform Bill introduced by Greens MP Amanda Cohn sought to make it mandatory for medical practitioners to provide abortion. Dr Joanna Howe led a campaign against the proposal, which resulted in the bill being amended to remove the controversial requirement. More information about her work can be found at: https://www.drjoannahowe.com.au/
(Photo by Hilary Wardhaugh/Getty Images)
