New Abortion Care Clinical Guidelines have been made available to assist healthcare professionals providing care to people requesting an abortion in Western Australia.
The guidelines are in line with the Abortion Legislation Reform Act 2023 (WA), which came into effect in 2024 and replace interim guidelines that had been in place.
The legislation aims to promote equity and reduce barriers for women, girls, and pregnant people accessing abortion care services in the state.
Major changes covered in the guidelines are around gestational age limits and an expansion of who is legally authorised to perform or assist with an abortion.
The most notable change is the increase of the gestational age limit for abortions without additional requirements from 20 weeks to not more than 23 weeks.
For pregnancies more than 23 weeks – 23 weeks and one day or more – a medical practitioner must consult with at least one other medical practitioner.
Both must agree that an abortion is appropriate after considering all relevant medical, physical, psychological, and social circumstances.
The requirement for approval from a ministerial panel for late-term abortions has been removed in the updated guidelines.
Access to care
In an effort to improve access to care, nurse practitioners and endorsed midwives can now prescribe abortion drugs for early medical abortions.
For pregnancies up to 23 weeks and zero days gestation, a single medical practitioner, nurse practitioner, or endorsed midwife can perform a medical abortion.
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This removes the previous requirement for two medical practitioners to be consulted for certain gestational periods.
Pharmacists and other registered health practitioners can also assist by supplying or administering abortion drugs under the direction of an authorised prescriber.
Consent
A mandatory counselling requirement prior to obtaining a patient’s consent to the abortion has been removed.
The legislation now requires only that a health practitioner obtain informed consent in line with existing standards of care.
Registered health practitioners are able to conscientiously object to providing abortion services but are required to, without delay, refer a patient requesting an abortion to a provider or service that can provide abortion care or information approved by the Chief Health Officer, specifying how the patient can access an abortion.
RELATED: When doctors say no to abortion
Babies born alive as a result of an abortion that subsequently die are no longer reportable deaths to the Coroner.
Culturally sensitive care
The guidelines emphasise the importance of providing care in a manner that is both culturally appropriate and sensitive to individual circumstances.
This includes specific considerations for Aboriginal clients and those from culturally and linguistically diverse backgrounds.
Doctors must ensure informed consent is obtained in an environment that allows for comfortable and confidential discussion, utilising interpreter services where necessary.
The guidelines also provide specific sections addressing care for young persons under 14 years, patients with a history of sexual assault or domestic violence, cases involving suspected foetal abnormality and patients who have undergone female genital cutting/mutilation.
The Western Australian Abortion Care Clinical Guidelines document is available online.
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