Reproductive rights and service delivery in the current political context: lessons for Australia.

Australia has made significant strides in advancing reproductive rights and improving service delivery, with reforms such as the decriminalisation of abortion in Queensland and New South Wales, the availability of medical abortion and access via telehealth and the establishment of safe access zones around clinics.

However, the global political landscape - including the overturning of Roe vs Wade in the United States - remains turbulent, with reproductive rights under threat in various parts of the world. This underscores the importance of safeguarding and furthering the gains made in Australia to ensure these rights are protected and that high quality, accessible abortion and contraception services and care are available for all Australian women.

Barriers to adequate contraception and abortion services and care include inconsistent abortion laws between states and territories, over-regulation of medical abortion, lack of regional level planning and accountability for service delivery, inconsistent services across the country, inadequate numbers of skilled providers, a lack of training opportunities, and consumer concerns such as high costs and difficulty navigating services. In this regard, Professor Daniel Grossman, Director of Advancing New Standards in Reproductive Health (ANSIRH) at the University of California San Francisco, will deliver a keynote address. He will share his experiences in the United States and offer insights on what Australia can learn from the American context. His expertise and observations will provide a valuable perspective on how to navigate the challenges and opportunities in reproductive rights and service delivery.

Following Professor Grossman's talk, there will be a panel discussion featuring:

Professor Daniel Grossman – Director of ANSIRH, The University of California San Francisco
The Hon Ged Kearney MP – Assistant Minister for Health and Aged Care, Assistant Minister for Indigenous Health
Ms Bonney Corbin – Chair of Australian Women’s Health Alliance and MSI Director of External Relations and Advocacy
Professor Kirsten Black – Professor of Sexual and Reproductive Health at The University of Sydney
Professor Danielle Mazza AM – Director of SPHERE CRE and Head of the Department of General Practice, Monash University

The panel will be facilitated by Professor Deborah Bateson AM, Professor of Practice at the Daffodil Centre, University of Sydney.

About the Speakers:

Professor Daniel Grossman:

Professor Daniel Grossman is the director of Advancing New Standards in Reproductive Health (ANSIRH) in the United States. He focuses his research on both clinical and social science studies aimed at improving access to contraception and safe abortion in the United States, Latin America, and sub-Saharan Africa, as well as evaluating the impact of integrating reproductive health and HIV services. He has served on committees for professional organizations such as the American Public Health Association and the American College of Obstetricians and Gynaecologists. As a faculty member in the Department of Obstetrics, Gynaecology and Reproductive Sciences at UCSF, Dr Grossman performs clinical work at Zuckerberg San Francisco General Hospital.

The Hon Ged Kearney MP:

The Hon Ged Kearney is the Federal Member for Cooper. Ged has served in the parliament since March 2018, when she was elected in a by-election. She is the first woman to hold the seat. Ged is the Assistant Minister for Health and Aged Care and Assistant Minister for Indigenous Health. Ged started her working life as a nurse and rose to become Federal Secretary of the Australian Nursing Federation. From 2010, Ged served as the president of the ACTU – the peak body of Australia’s union movement –where she fought for better conditions for Australian workers. Ged’s working life – from nurse to president of the ACTU to parliamentarian – has been about fighting for the rights of others. She is a strong voice for social justice, workers’ rights and universal healthcare inside Labor and the parliament.

Ms Bonney Corbin:

Bonney Corbin is the Director of External Relations and Advocacy at MSI. With over 20 years of international experience, Bonney is an urban planner specialising in health planning and violence prevention. Bonney supports MSI's work in Australia, Asia and South Pacific regions, focusing on enhancing sexual and reproductive health equity. Particularly interested in reproductive violence, Bonney has facilitated previous research, policy and practice reviews to prevent reproductive coercion. Bonney also serves as the Chair of the Australian Women's Health Alliance and is the Co-Chair of the International Sexual and Reproductive Health Consortium.

Professor Kirsten Black:

Professor Kirsten Black is an academic gynaecologist at the University of Sydney. She is a Fellow of the Royal Australian and New Zealand College of Obstetricians (RANZCOG) and chairs the college’s special interest group in Sexual and Reproductive Health. Kirsten has a PhD from the London School of Hygiene and Tropical Medicine, University of London and a Fellowship of the United Kingdom’s Faculty of Sexual and Reproductive Healthcare. Kirsten has been awarded over $10 million in research funding and has 150 peer reviewed publications. She practices clinically in the areas of contraception, abortion and preconception care and combines clinical work, research and teaching.

Professor Danielle Mazza AM:

Professor Danielle Mazza AM is the Head of the Department of General Practice at Monash University and a nationally and internationally recognised leader in implementation research and knowledge translation in the general practice setting. She has made significant, sustained and ongoing contributions to advance general practice and primary health care in Australia in the field of women’s sexual and reproductive health and as a proponent of evidence-based quality improvement through guideline development and implementation. She leads the SPHERE Centre of Research Excellence, which aims to improve the quality, safety, and capacity of primary health care services to achieve better outcomes in women’s sexual and reproductive health.

Professor Deborah Bateson AM (facilitator):

Deborah Bateson is Professor of Practice at the Daffodil Centre. She is a clinician researcher who has extensive experience in community outreach, through her leadership in the development and delivery of sexual and reproductive healthcare clinical guidelines, education and training nationally and internationally. She is widely recognised for her work as an advocate for equity in a range of women’s health issues and is a well-known and trusted media commentator on areas such as sexuality, reproductive health and cancer control stemming from her 20 years of experience as a clinician and medical director in these fields.

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