South Australia Parliament to Debate Late-Term Abortion Restrictions Again

South Australia's parliament is set to debate restrictions on late-term abortion for the third time in less than two years.

Anti-abortion campaigners are hopeful the newly-elected upper house, comprised of three new One Nation members, will pass the legislation.

Upper house MLC Sarah Game, formerly of One Nation and now an independent, is introducing legislation on Wednesday to place new limits on abortions after 25 weeks.

It comes only six months after her last push to change abortion laws was defeated in the upper house 11 votes to eight.

South Australian law currently permits abortions after 23 weeks, with the approval of two doctors, if the continuation of the pregnancy would involve "significant risk to the physical or mental health" of the pregnant person.

The latest bill, endorsed by prominent anti-abortion campaigner Joanna Howe, would remove that clause and effectively ban abortion from 25 weeks onwards except when it is necessary to save the life of the mother.

It also removes serious foetal abnormalities as a valid reason to perform a late-term abortion, with Ms Howe stating the new laws would "provide protection for all children, irrespective of any kind of disability that they have".

Ms Game said the parliament has a responsibility to "protect vulnerable human life" and have an "honest conversation about where South Australia draws the line".

"If we can make time to debate protecting possums, surely we can have a conversation about protecting the lives of healthy babies," she said, referencing the ongoing debate about tree felling in Possum Park for the North Adelaide Golf Course upgrade.

"This debate goes to fundamental questions about medicine, ethics and the value we place on human life."

The latest push for a roll-back will be fiercely opposed by abortion rights campaigners who have described previous attempts to place additional limits on access to termination as both an attack on women's rights and a danger to their health.

Greens MLC Melanie Selwood said abortion was a "healthcare decision between a person and their doctor".

"Activists, community members, and healthcare professionals campaigned for decades to enshrine this fundamental right into law," she said.

"Two bills that attempted to roll it back were defeated in the last term of parliament.

"It's incredibly disappointing that Sarah Game and the far right have decided to launch yet another attack on this right in pursuit of their extreme agendas."

New upper house more likely to pass bill

This bill, the third on abortion since 2024, will need 11 votes to get through an upper house which has three new members from One Nation, an avowedly pro-life party.

"We're grateful for the new composition of the upper house in particular and we're excited to have this opportunity," Ms Howe said.

"We hope this is third time lucky for us."

Both the Labor and Liberal parties have historically allowed their MPs conscience votes on abortion.

Three members who voted against the last abortion bill — Greens MLC Tammy Franks, SA Best's Connie Bonaros and former Liberal Jing Lee — are no longer in parliament, while Labor's Reggie Martin does not have a vote on the floor after being elected upper house president.

Only one supporter of Ms Game's last bill, Liberal MLC Frank Pangallo, has left parliament.

If it passed the upper house it is far less likely to pass the lower house which is comprised of 34 Labor MPs, five Liberals, four One Nation MPs and four independents.

But it would represent the first time an abortion roll-back bill has made it to the lower house since abortion rights were expanded in 2021.

That would mean some MPs who have not had to vote on the previous bills would need to put their views on the record and could find themselves the target of campaigns from both sides of the debate.

"We are extremely confident that once this debate occurs, on our own terms in the marginal seats of these MPs, we will be able to activate and educate local communities to persuade their local MP to vote for an upper gestational limit of 25 weeks for abortion," Ms Howe said.