Following the recent US Supreme Court ruling which overturned Roe v Wade1, Nationals senator Matt Canavan2 has claimed that Australia is one of just six countries that allow "late term abortions".
This claim is false. An analysis of abortion laws throughout the world shows that at least 11 countries permit abortion later in pregnancy on request and many more allow the procedure to be performed for various socioeconomic and health reasons.
Senator Canavan made the claim in a June 28 interview with Sky News3.
"We're very isolated now, it's China, North Korea, Vietnam, Canada, the Netherlands and ourselves that maintain this permission for late term abortions. Most European countries, South American countries, most Asian countries do not permit this," he said (video mark 3min 19sec).
Senator Canavan repeated the claim in a tweet (archived here) posted on the same day. On this occasion, he said it was one in seven with the inclusion of Singapore. He also made a similar assertion in 20184 when speaking against Queensland's Termination of Pregnancy Bill.
Senator Canavan's office declined to provide a source for his claim when contacted by AAP FactCheck.
Experts told AAP FactCheck that the phrase "late term abortion" is not a medical term and is often used by those against abortion to describe the procedure in the second (approximately week 13 to 27) and third (28 weeks until birth) trimesters5.
Dr Erica Millar6, a senior research fellow at La Trobe University7, said it can refer to abortion after 12 weeks, after 20 weeks or "post-viability", which is generally after 24 weeks.
While Senator Canavan did not specify his definition, it appears based on a 2014 report8 published by the Charlotte Lozier Institute9, an organisation that opposes abortion10.
The report compared gestational11 limits set out in abortion laws and determined that only seven countries permit "elective abortion"12 at 20 weeks or later.
The countries were listed as Canada, China, the Netherlands, North Korea, Singapore, the United States and Vietnam.
Senator Canavan's comments reflect the findings of this study but are incorrect because there are currently more than seven countries that permit abortions on request later in pregnancy.
AAP FactCheck identified at least 11 countries that allow abortion on request at 20 weeks gestation or later.
The laws in China13, North Korea14, Vietnam15 and Canada16 do not indicate a gestational limit for abortion.
The Netherlands17, Singapore18 and Colombia19 permit abortion on request up to 24 weeks, Iceland20 up to 22 weeks and New Zealand21 up to 20 weeks.
Despite the overturning of Roe v Wade, at the time of writing abortion continues to be legal in several US states22. The laws of New York23, Nevada24, New Hampshire25, Massachusetts 26and Pennsylvania27 permit abortion on request up to 24 weeks of pregnancy, while in Alaska28, Colorado29, the District of Colombia30, New Jersey31, New Mexico32, Oregon 33and Vermont34 abortion currently remains legal at any stage throughout a pregnancy.
Abortion laws in Australia vary between states and territories but most jurisdictions allow it on request past 20 weeks. NSW35, Queensland 36and South Australia37 permit abortion for any reason up to 22 weeks, while Victoria38 and the Northern Territory39 allow up to 24 weeks. The law in the ACT40 does not set a gestational limit, although there are no abortion providers41 operating in the territory that offer abortions after 20 weeks.
Dr Prudence Flowers42, an expert on abortion and a senior lecturer in humanities at Flinders University43, described Senator Canavan's claim as "inaccurate" on "both on the specific number he cites but more importantly on the implication that the rest of the world rejects these procedures".
"In allowing abortion after 20 weeks, the laws in Qld and most Australian jurisdictions are closely in keeping with the approach in Canada and Great Britain, the countries with which we are most similar in terms of legal and political traditions," Dr Flowers said in an email
Senator Canavan did not specify in his claim that he was referring to abortions on request. Experts told AAP FactCheck more than 20 countries with gestational limit before 20 weeks still allow abortions to be performed later in pregnancy under certain circumstances.
"Most countries permit abortion on maternal health grounds throughout a pregnancy; a huge number also permit abortion on grounds of severe foetal anomaly," Dr Millar said.
"For example, according to the UK Abortion Act44, abortion is not lawfully a pregnant person's choice at any stage of pregnancy in England, Wales and Scotland. Most abortions occur before 24 weeks … but the NHS states45 they can be performed after this time 'if the mother's life is at risk or the child would be born with a severe disability'."
Dr Flowers agreed.
"More than 20 countries with gestational age cut-offs lower than 20 weeks still have legal exceptions that allow abortion after that point for a range of reasons," she said. "In practice, despite the letter of the law and the defined gestational limits, this still functions like 'abortion on request' (particularly in Western Europe)."
Both France46 and Spain47 (article 14) have gestational limits of 14 weeks, but allow abortion after this point if there's a risk to the life of the pregnant person or fetal abnormalities.
In Japan48 abortion is permitted up to 22 weeks if a continued pregnancy or birth will endanger the health of the mother or cause economic hardship. Argentinan49 law permits abortion on request up to 14 weeks gestation, but is legal after 14 weeks in cases of rape or if the pregnant person's health is endangered.
A similar claim to Senator Canavan's was made by former US president Donald Trump50 in 2017 and US Senator Lindsey Graham51 in May this year.
AAP FactCheck is an accredited member of the International Fact-Checking Network52. To keep up with our latest fact checks, follow us on Facebook, Twitter and Instagram.
