Pregnancy and Childbirth

A prominent anti-abortion campaigner who helped draft controversial proposed changes to South Australia's laws on the issue says she applied pressure to Liberal MP Jing Lee to abandon a deal with a colleague.

Decriminalisation was meant to give women access to safe, affordable abortions as a form of health care. Five years on, the ABC can reveal glaring examples of the system failing people in rural and regional areas at almost every step. 

A Liberal upper house MP has apologised for reneging on a deal with a colleague ahead of a vote on a bill seeking to reform South Australia's abortion laws, saying she felt pressured by an "external visitor" on the night.

The Mackay Hospital and Health Service says a $8.12 million review has led to significant change, but women who were affected by "inadequate care" at the hospital's gynaecology and obstetrics unit say there is still more work to be done.

A 40 per cent drop in patient numbers over 10 years means Gosford Private Hospital will end birth services in March, leaving a public facility in Gosford as the only birthing hospital available in the region.

Meanwhile research published by the Society of Family Planning has found abortion rates have stayed the same overall, despite an outright ban in some states. 

AFLW star and Olympic gold medallist Chloe Dalton is expecting her first child later this month after going through IVF with her partner Riley, and she hopes there are more open discussions about fertility in the women's sporting space.

Experts say that while Donald Trump and the Republican party say IVF treatments in the US are not at risk, signs are pointing otherwise.

As Australia's population nears 30 million, this is the story of how we got here and where we might be heading next.

A controversial bill to change South Australia's abortion laws has been narrowly defeated in the state parliament's upper house.

South Australia's upper house has narrowly voted down a proposal to amend abortion laws so that people who want to terminate their pregnancy after 28 weeks would be required to deliver their baby alive. 

The national birth rate has hit a record low and is now at a critical level, with economic consequences for the future.

A minor party in Queensland has vowed to introduce a bill to re-criminalise abortion if Labor loses this month's state election, throwing a wild card into the campaign.

Tayla-Jane Jackson had a late-term abortion in 2023 with the agreement of two doctors. She does not want a private member's bill introduced by Liberal MLC Ben Hood to pass parliament. 

Abortion has become a surprise subject of debate in the Queensland election – putting an issue that many Australians might have thought was settled, back on the national agenda.

Joel Reeve is eagerly awaiting the birth of his son after a stranger he met online agreed to be a surrogate. But he had to move his entire life to Tasmania to become a father.

This family lives a bumpy four-hour drive away from medical help. They couldn't do it without the Royal Flying Doctors Service.

Miley is the first baby to be delivered via altruistic surrogacy in the North West Queensland outback, where healthcare with a reputation as hard to access has brought a family's dreams to life.

The survey found more than one-in-ten expectant mothers were regularly going hungry, while every pregnant participant failed to meet all five pregnancy-specific nutritional guidelines.

Current abortion legislation has been in effect for little more than two years, but a conservative MP argues it's time for more changes. And it comes despite concerns within his own party about his plan, Rory McClaren writes.