Right: Advertising aimed at lifting the ban on Australian aid which might promote abortion. Further implications
Australian aid will not be used to fund abortion advice and assistance in those countries where abortion is illegal. Therefore the change in aid policy will have no impact on the female mortality rate in these countries. However, it is likely to reduce deaths in those countries Australia aids where abortion is legal but advice about it and access to it is limited.Before the change in policy Australian aid was not available to fund activities involving abortion training, services, research, or provision, even where the life of the mother was at risk. Australia did not train doctors in the provision of safe abortions and did not provide funds to any groups or organisations that gave women information on abortions, whether or not the organisation itself performed them. Doctors receiving Australian Government aid were unable to counsel women who were seeking an abortion, or to help them differentiate between a safe and an unsafe abortion.
The change in Government aid policy means that these bodies and individuals will be able to supply assistance either directly or indirectly to women seeking abortions in those countries where the procedure is legal.
Obviously, however, easier access to abortion is not a solution to the difficulties many of those living in developing nations face. Research indicates that abortion is a particularly undesirable option in countries which place a primary value on children as a means of securing the futures of their parents. Religious beliefs and attitudes toward the nature and value of life may also make abortion an option many women in developing nations feel unable to take.
Concern has been expressed that Australia continue to supply other forms of support to developing nations. Assistance in disease control, sanitation, clean water sources and food production are seen by many as of greater assistance - the argument being if you can feed and clothe children and parents are not diminished by disease, abortion is less likely to be sought.
On the issue of the political repercussions for the Australian Government, these are not clear-cut. Senator Brian Fielding has indicated that he is not an absolute opponent of abortion. This view has put him at odds with many in his party, Family First. Though Senator Fielding has criticised Prime Minister Rudd for not adhering to his beliefs and opposing the policy change, Senator Fielding's own position on the question of abortion means that he is unlikely to use his balance of power in the Senate to force a return to the previous AusAID policy which prohibited abortion.