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Human Rights (Children Born Alive Protection) Bill 2026 Will Reduce Access to Essential Abortion Care

Wednesday 26 August 2026

Advocacy

On 17 August 2026, Nationals MP Mr Llew O’Brien introduced the Human Rights (Children Born Alive Protection) Bill 2026 into the Australian House of Representatives for consideration by Parliament.

The objective of the Bill is to legislate protections relating to live fetuses during an abortion across Australia. Similar bills introduced federally in 2021 and 2022 failed to gain sufficient parliamentary support and ultimately lapsed. Like prior attempts, the proposed Bill lacks medical, ethical, and legal grounds.

Drawing on clinical evidence and the expertise of specialists who provide reproductive healthcare, the Royal Australian and New Zealand College of Obstetricians and Gynaecologists (RANZCOG, the College) strongly opposes the proposed Bill.

The proposed Bill insinuates that medical professionals may fail to provide care to a live fetus during an abortion. This is simply not true.

The proposed legislation does not address any demonstrated gap in the existing legal or professional framework governing healthcare. All healthcare professionals already operate under strict professional and regulatory standards, and with a duty of care to their patients.

What this Bill will do instead is add barriers to abortion access for women and vulnerable communities through creating fear and uncertainty amongst providers.

– Dr Nisha Khot, RANZCOG President

Obstetricians and gynaecologists who care for women in these circumstances are concerned that the 2026 Bill fundamentally misrepresents clinical practice. Most abortions occur in the first trimester, well before 22 weeks. Before 22 weeks, a fetus is medically considered previable, regardless of the circumstances, so life sustaining medical care is not possible. In these situations, the provision of palliative care for the fetus is already current practice.

Abortions after 22 weeks are rare and require support from two medical practitioners in most jurisdictions in Australia. These decisions are often due to fetal anomalies, that present a substantially reduced likelihood of survival after birth, even with medical intervention.^[1],[2] This context is important when considering the Human Rights (Children Born Alive Protection) Bill 2026, as later abortions often involve complex medical situations and very poor fetal prognoses.

Further legal regulation will be confusing and unhelpful, leading to practitioner anxiety. If a clinician is found liable for an offence, the Bill outlines that they be penalised by 2,000 penalty units – the equivalent of a $728,000 fine. This may make healthcare professionals reluctant to provide services for fear of being penalised, further limiting access to abortion care and widening the chasm in already under-served regions.

As this Bill applies to all Australian states and territories, overriding jurisdictional legislation, it risks reducing access to healthcare for all Australian women who require these services. A reduction in professionals who are willing to provide abortions will force women to travel further and face increased financial and logistical burdens to receive essential healthcare. This outcome will be particularly detrimental for those in regional, rural, and remote communities, as well as First Nations women and families, who already disproportionately suffer from a shortage of abortion providers.

This Bill risks doing considerable harm; it creates more red tape which will ultimately prevent women from accessing safe and timely abortion care.

The College urges the federal government to withdraw the proposed Bill. Should the Bill have a second reading, then the government should vote against it. If any Members of Parliament have concerns about clinical practice, they should be addressed through expert review and consultation, not politically driven legislation.

Fundamentally, not only is this Bill redundant in the face of robust professional guidelines around medical practice, but it is also a step backwards for access to equitable healthcare in Australia.

[1] Royal Australian and New Zealand College of Obstetricians and Gynaecologists. Clinical Guideline for Abortion Care: An Evidence-Based Guideline on Abortion Care in Australia and Aotearoa New Zealand. Version 1.4. RANZCOG; 2026.
[2] Rosser S, Sekar R, Laporte J, et al. Late termination of pregnancy at a major Queensland tertiary hospital, 2010-2020. Med J Aust. 2022;217(8):410-414. doi:10.5694/mja2.51697.