Recent legislative changes in Australia and Aotearoa New Zealand permit abortion to be performed in all jurisdictions, under certain circumstances, by registered health professionals who are working within their approved scope of practice.
Summary
RANZCOG has published the first binational evidence-based clinical practice guideline on abortion care for Australia and Aotearoa New Zealand.
The purpose of this guideline is to provide evidence-based recommendations to registered health professionals who provide advice and abortion care in Australia and Aotearoa New Zealand. RANZCOG supports equitable access to sexual and reproductive health services, including abortion, a fundamental reproductive health right.
Recent legislative changes in Australia and Aotearoa New Zealand permit abortion to be performed in all jurisdictions, under certain circumstances, by registered health professionals who are working within their approved scope of practice.
Key topics covered in this guideline include:
- Telehealth advancements — there is scope for an increased role for telehealth in Early Medical Abortion (EMA); EMA services by telehealth have been reported to be safe and effective
- Routine testing — routine testing of blood group for Rh D status is not required for either medical or surgical abortion up to 10 weeks pregnant; the guideline also makes recommendations on use of ultrasound prior to an abortion
- Pain relief — all women undergoing a medical or surgical abortion should be offered effective pain relief
- Antibiotic prophylaxis — the guideline provides clarity that antibiotic prophylaxis is recommended for all women having a surgical abortion, but is not recommended for women having a medical abortion
- Choice of medical or surgical abortion — when considering a medical or a surgical abortion, women should be able to choose the method of abortion most acceptable to them as both methods are safe and effective; RANZCOG has developed a companion document to this guideline to support their decision-making.
View The Guidelines >>
Associate Professor Magdalena Simonis AM is the Immediate Past President of the AFMW (2020-2023), former President of VMWS (2013 & 2017-2020) and current AFMW National Coordinator (2024-2026). She is a full time clinician who also holds positions on several not for profit organisations, driven by her passion for bridging gaps across the health sector. She is a leading women’s health expert, keynote speaker, climate change and gender equity advocate and government advisor. Magda is member of The Australian Health Team contributing monthly articles.
Magdalena was awarded a lifetime membership of the RACGP for her contributions which include past chair of Women in General Practice, longstanding contribution to the RACGP Expert Committee Quality Care, the RACGP eHealth Expert Committee. She is regularly invited to comment on primary care research though mainstream and medical media and contributes articles on various health issues through newsGP and other publications.
Magdalena has represented the RACGP at senate enquiries and has worked on several National Health Framework reviews. She is author of the RACGP Guide on Female Genital Cosmetic Surgery and co-reviewer of the RACGP Red Book Women’s Health Chapter, and reviewer of the RACGP White book
Both an RACGP examiner and University examiner, she undertakes general practice research and is a GP Educator with the Safer Families Centre of Research Excellence, which develops education tools to assist the primary care sector identify, respond to and manage family violence . Roles outside of RACGP include the Strategy and Policy Committee for Breast Cancer Network Australia, Board Director of the Melbourne University Teaching Health Clinics and the elected GP representative to the AMA Federal Council. In 2022. she was award the AMA (Vic) Patrick Pritzwald-Steggman Award 2022, which celebrates a doctor who has made an exceptional contribution to the wellbeing of their colleagues and the community and was listed as Women’s Agenda 2022 finalist for Emerging Leader in Health.
Magdalena has presented at the United Nations as part of the Australian Assembly and was appointed the Australian representative to the World Health Organisation, World Assembly on COVID 19, by the Medical Women’s International Association (MWIA) in 2021. In 2023, A/Professor Simonis was included on the King’s COVID-19 Champion’s list and was also awarded a Member (AM) in the General Division for significant service to medicine through a range of roles and to women’s health.
