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The Nationals’ Senate Leader,  the Hon Ron Boswell,  on 3lst January 2005  tabled sixteen Questions on Notice to the Minister for Health and Ageing on the issue of abortion. 

“Recent public debate on abortion has been characterised by a wide range of proffered statistics and claims. Recognising that abortion is a matter for state law, but that the Commonwealth funds abortion procedures through Medicare, will the Minister please provide the most detailed and recent information as set out below, to expedite an informed debate? 

  1) How many abortion procedures are carried out each year in Australia in the private and public health sectors in the different states and territories?

  2) Does the Department have access to reliable information on the percentage of pregnancies that end in abortion in Australia? What is the Department’s estimate?

  3) Has the Department access to reliable forecasts or predictions of the number of abortions likely in future years? What is the Department’s expectations of Medicare funding allocations  required for abortion procedures in the next ten years?

  4) Has the Department access to, and if so, could they provide, a current statistical profile of  Australian women who have an abortion – for example, information tabulated across age,  income, married status, number of children, previous abortions, reason for procedure,  geographical location, etc?

 5) How many Medicare providers provided abortions last year? How many public hospitals or    centres carry out abortions?

 6) What is the market structure of the private abortion sector? Can the Department provide a  numerical breakdown of the private operators according to number of abortions?

 7) Are abortion clinics subject to any form of government accreditation relating to counselling  and abortion procedures?

 8) How does the Department define a “late term abortion”?  How many late term abortions have  been performed in Australia each year for the past ten years? How many providers of late term abortions are there for the same time period?  What are the statistically significant reasons for late term abortions?

 9) Is there reputable research in the international medical/scientific literature  linking women who have abortions with higher rates of mental illness or breast cancer? Has any  research been done on this recently in Australia? Are there any plans to do so? Is this claimed  link a public health outcome which needs addressing? If so, what action is being considered?

10) Can the Minister detail the recent history of Commonwealth funding provided to pregnancy  counselling services? Can this funding be broken down into services provided by the abortion clinic itself (or affiliated groups) and those provided by “pro-life” groups and those provided  by independent services?

 11) Has there been any research into the impact of mandatory independent  pregnancy  counselling services on the number of subsequent abortions? Is the Minister aware of any  Australian institutions where mandatory independent counselling is provided and the impact this  has had on the abortion rate?

12) How does the Commonwealth measure the performance of pregnancy counselling services  funded by the Commonwealth? What criteria are used to allocate funding?

13) What would be the cost of providing mandatory independent counselling for all women seeking abortions?

14) How many women who have abortions do not receive any counselling?

15) What would be the cost of including an ultra-sound of the foetus as part of the counselling process?

 16) How does the Department budget for Medicare funded abortions? What part of the cost of abortions is paid by the Commonwealth in Medicare, Australian Health Care Agreements and other funding?” 

Independent Senator, the Hon. Brian Harradine:  Questions to Senator Patterson, Minister representing the Minister for Human Services: 10 February 2005.

I refer to an article in the Sydney Morning Herald today titled ‘Abortion clinic owner on trial over fee fraud’ that reports that an abortion clinic in Sydney defrauded Medicare by charging women an upfront fee of anything from $120 to $1,100 whilst also bulk-billing. An abortion clinic worker at the trial testified that at least three other  clinics also charged upfront cash fees. Minister, how many other abortion clinics are under investigation for defrauding Medicare? What is the government going to do to protect women from these unscrupulous operators? 

Senator PATTERSON—I assume that Senator Harradine would understand that I will not talk about that individual case, because it is before the courts. I will say though that the HIC is assiduous in pursuing medical practitioners who break the law with regard to Medicare. I presume the HIC identified this case. I have not got any information about any other clinics that are referred to here, but if people have information about clinics I know Mr Abbott and Mr Hockey would welcome that information being given to them or to the HIC because they will be investigated. The article does not refer to or name the clinics. I presume the HIC will have noted that and will be endeavouring to find out if the alleged clinics exist. If so, they will be pursued vigorously.

The Coalition government has been very active in ensuring the integrity of not only the Medicare system but also the Pharmaceutical Benefits Scheme and our social security system through improved compliance. I know the HIC works very hard on this issue and will continue to do so. From what I have read in the press I believe it was the HIC that pursued this issue in the first place. Senator Harradine, if you have any more information, I am sure the HIC would appreciate having it. 

Senator HARRADINE—Mr President, I ask a supplementary question. Minister, I note from the story in the Sydney Morning Herald that the clinic employed an untrained counsellor who also worked as a receptionist. Abortion clinics are part of a private industry and have a vested interest in women having abortions so that they can get a fee. What is the government doing to ensure that women receive proper counselling from trained people and information on practical alternatives to abortion, independent of the abortion clinic, so that their decision involves their fully informed consent? 

Senator PATTERSON—Again I am not going to comment on the individual case but there is  legislation in the various states if people purport to be what they are not, particularly if they purport to be psychologists and they are not. If a clinic were using a person who was not qualified and claiming Medicare, I am sure the HIC would pursue that as well. With regard to assistance to women—and I made this comment in the debate earlier, particularly in November last year—we need to make sure that young people have appropriate education and people facing unwanted pregnancies have appropriate counselling. We do fund the states through the public health care outcome agreements to run programs to give advice and assistance to people who are facing unwanted pregnancies. The states administer those. In the last agreement that was to the tune of $70 million. I do not have any other information on that.   (Time expired)