Western NSW Local Health District (WNSWLHD) supports women’s choices and the right to access public health care. This includes access to timely, affordable, emotionally, culturally and physically safe abortion services.
Accessing these services through your usual doctor/general practitioner (GP) or in your community may not always be possible, or the right choice, for all women and their circumstances.
Across Western NSW health services are available to support women before, during and after abortion care. This includes the free (for Australian Medicare card holders) WNSWLHD Pregnancy Options Care and Support service. This service provides support with making decisions about pregnancy, access to abortion services, counselling, after-care services, social supports and connecting women with services as close to home as possible.
Abortion care options
Many things can influence which abortion care choice may be right for a woman, including:
- how far along the pregnancy is,
- social and emotional reasons,
- personal medical history or circumstances.
Each woman has the right to make a choice that is right for her and her circumstances.
Before an abortion can happen, an ultrasound and/or blood test is needed, to confirm how far along the pregnancy is.
Learn more below about the three abortion care services in Western NSW.
Support, advice and counselling may be helpful for any woman considering ending a pregnancy.
Before an abortion, a woman may want to learn more or have counselling to help her decide if this is the right choice for her. This support can also be helpful if a woman has made the choice to end a pregnancy, or even after an abortion has happened.
Through the Pregnancy Options Care and Support Service a social worker is available to provide practical support such as finding the right health services, explaining health system process and giving information on how to access travel and financial support services if they are needed.
Access to these services may be either face-to-face or virtual (by phone or video), depending on a woman’s location and personal circumstances.
Medical termination (medical abortion) involves a patient taking a medicine to end a pregnancy.
In most cases, if a woman is less than 63 days (nine weeks) along in her pregnancy, medical termination is safe to happen at home. After 63 days, medical termination of pregnancy will happen in an hospital setting or medical facility.
For pregnancies over 22 weeks, patients must have an appointment with a specialised doctor and the medical termination must take place in a hospital setting.
If a woman is not able to see the doctor face-to-face, these services may be offered by phone or video appointment.
A surgical termination is a procedure caried out by a surgeon to remove a pregnancy. It takes place in the operating theatre of a hospital, day surgery or private clinic. Patients are under an anaesthetic (medicine to keep them asleep) during this type of abortion.
Surgical termination in Western NSW is available at public hospitals in Orange and Dubbo. There may also be private providers of this service operating in the region. The WNSWLHD Pregnancy Options Care and Support Service team can provide advice on these options.
Accessing abortion care services
If you would like to talk to someone about abortion care, including understanding the choices available for your circumstances, or just to ask questions, the following choices are available to you.
- WNSWLHD Pregnancy Options Care and Support Service - see referral information below.
- Doctors/GPs – this could be either your usual GP or any other GP you are able to see. You may have an in-person or a virtual consultation. Not all GPs provide abortion care, so you will need to ask the doctor or medical practice if these services are available.
- Other healthcare professionals, such as women’s health nurses/clinics, specialist doctors (gynaecologist/obstetrician), hospitals and private abortion services.
- Online services, such as the Pregnancy Choices Helpline and Family planning NSW websites.
Abortion and the law
In NSW the Abortion Law Reform Act 2019 (Act) ensures abortion care is treated as a health issue. The Act supports a woman’s right to make decisions about her reproductive health. It also describes the rights and responsibilities for health professionals and supports them to provide safe abortion care.
More information is available on the NSW Health website
WNSWLHD Pregnancy Options Care and Support Service
The WNSWLHD Pregnancy Options Care and Support service can help women considering or seeking an abortion, with:
- Free, timely, confidential and culturally safe abortion care support.
- Advice about pregnancy choices, including counselling.
- Advice and guidance about available service providers, including those offered by WNSWLHD, GPs, private clinics and specialists. This includes referrals as needed.
- Arranging blood tests and ultrasounds.
- Travel and accommodation options.
- Medicine needs and guidance.
- Follow-up care for all abortion services.
- Contraception planning, advice and sexual health testing.
Accessing the service
The service operates Monday to Friday, 8am to 5pm (excluding public holidays). Outside these hours, callers can leave a message for the team, who will call back the next business day.
To be sure a woman receives care as quickly and easily as possible, some of the abortion services needed may be offered virtually, while others will be face-to-face.
Self-referrals
Women can refer themselves to the WNSWLHD Pregnancy Options Care and Support service, either by phone or online:
Referrals from a GP or other medical professional
Any GP, private medical specialist, nurse, midwife or community health service (such as women’s health or sexual health clinic) can refer a woman to the WNSWLHD Pregnancy Options Care and Support Service.
In many cases, a GP will have access to referral forms in their medical practice software. If not, they can use the online form in the self-referral section of this page.
Completed referral forms should be sent via secure software to WNSWLHD-PregnancyOptionsTeam@health.nsw.gov.au
Any pregnant person, even those under the age of 18 years, can get in touch with the WNSWLHD Pregnancy Options Care and Support service to learn more about their abortion care choices and get the support they need.
This is a free, safe and confidential service.