Abortion services at Orange Hospital to be reinstated after ban on terminations for non-medical reasons

A public hospital in regional New South Wales is restoring abortion services after an ABC investigation revealed the executive had banned staff from providing terminations to patients for non-medical reasons. A leaked document obtained by the ABC revealed that staff at Orange Health Service in Central West NSW could no longer provide abortions for patients with "no identified pregnancy complications". In a statement to the ABC on Friday afternoon, the Western NSW Local Health District, which oversees the Orange Hospital, stated that: "The Western NSW LHD executive has assessed immediate matters at Orange Hospital, and the level of abortion services which has historically been provided at the facility will be restored and available to the community. Hospital executive 'tightening the screws' on abortion access The new referral pathway document was emailed to staff after an ABC investigation on regional abortion access revealed concerns that terminations for non-medical reasons were being obstructed due to conscientious objection from "high in the health bureaucracy". Family Planning Australia chief executive Sue Shilbury told the ABC the decision to reinstate services at Orange Hospital was a "terrific result" for women seeking reproductive health care.