There are only two states in the Commonwealth of Australia that collect and publish abortion data. They are Western Australia (WA) and South Australia (SA). These states make up approximately 18% of Australia’s population. Western Australia has been reporting abortion statistics since 1999; South Australia has been reporting since 1970. South Australia reports new abortion data annually; Western Australia only releases new data every 3-5 years. The following statistics have been gleaned from the Government of South Australia and the Government of Western Australia, and combined with available birth data,1 to provide an overview of the frequency and demography of abortion in Australia.
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ANNUAL ABORTION STATISTICS
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In 2018, an estimated 73,800 abortions took place in Australia. This numerical range was extrapolated from the reported abortion total of Western Australia, based upon its share of Australia’s population and live births.*
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In 2017, an estimated 71,000 abortions took place in Australia. This numerical range was extrapolated from the reported abortion total of South Australia and Western Australia, based upon their share of Australia’s population and live births.**
*In 2018, Western Australia represented 10.4% of Australia’s population and 10.5% of its live births. We also adjusted for the absence of South Australia data. In 2017, when abortion totals were extrapolated from South Australia and Western Australia data, the tally was 1.3% lower than when extrapolating from Western Australia data alone.
**In 2017, South Australia represented 7.0% of Australia’s population and 6.4% of its live births; Western Australia represented 10.4% of Australia’s population and 11.4% of its live births.
ANNUAL ABORTION STATISTICS (South Australia)
- In 2017, approximately 4,349 abortions took place in South Australia, up from 4,346 in 2016.
- Between 1970 and 2017, approximately 212,000 abortions occurred in South Australia.
- Annual abortion totals by selected years:
2015 2010 2005 2000 1995 1990 1985 1980 1975 1970 4,441 5,048 4,715 5,580 5,475 4,463 4,079 4,081 3,000 1,440 2015 2010 2005 2000 1995 4,441 5,048 4,715 5,580 5,475 1990 1985 1980 1975 1970 4,463 4,079 4,081 3,000 1,440 - Approximately 18.6% of all pregnancies in South Australia (excluding spontaneous miscarriages) currently end in abortion.
- Total annual abortions in South Australia have increased by more than 200% since 1970, when abortion became legal in the state. The total number of annual abortions more than doubled between 1970 and 1973. There were 5,679 abortions reported in 1999, which is the highest total on record.
ANNUAL ABORTION STATISTICS (Western Australia)
- In 2018, approximately 7,816 abortions took place in Western Australia, down from 7,828 in 2017 and 7,855 in 2016.
- Annual abortion totals by selected years:
2018 2016 2014 2012 2010 2008 2006 2004 2002 2000 7,186 7,855 8,516 8,429 8,415 8,668 8,336 7,869 8,262 8,337 2018 2016 2014 2012 2010 7,186 7,855 8,516 8,429 8,415 2008 2006 2004 2002 2000 8,668 8,336 7,869 8,262 8,337 - Approximately 18.9% of all pregnancies in Western Australia (excluding spontaneous miscarriages) currently end in abortion.
- There were 8,885 abortions reported in 2009, which is the highest total on record.
WHO HAS ABORTIONS?
- In both South Australia and Western Australia, women in their 20s account for the majority of abortions; women aged 20-24 have the highest abortion rate.
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In South Australia, adolescents under 15 years obtained less than 0.5% of all 2017 abortions; women aged 15–19 years accounted for 8.6%.
- Percentage of 2017 Reported Abortions by Age of Mother (South Australia):
<15 years 15–19 years 20–24 years 25–29 years 30–34 years 35–39 years 40+ years 0.3% 8.8% 26% 25% 21.9% 13.3% 4.9% <15 years 15–19 years 20–24 years 25–29 years 0.6% 8.8% 26% 25% 30–34 years 35–39 years 40+ years 21.9% 13.3% 4.9% -
In Western Australia, adolescents under 15 years obtained less than 1% of all 2018 abortions; women aged 15–19 years accounted for 7%.
- Percentage of 2018 Reported Abortions by Age of Mother (Western Australia):
<15 years 15–19 years 20–24 years 25–29 years 30–34 years 35–39 years 40+ years 0.3% 7.5% 23.0% 25.9% 22.5% 14.6% 6.1% <15 years 15–19 years 20–24 years 25–29 years 0.3% 7.5% 23.0% 25.9% 30–34 years 35–39 years 40+ years 22.5% 14.6% 6.1% -
In South Australia, women with no prior abortions accounted for 64% of all abortions in 2017.
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Metropolitan residents account for 83% of all abortions in South Australia.
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In Western Australia, the Aboriginal abortion rate is 14.1; the non-Aboriginal abortion rate is 14.3.* The abortion rate has been trending down for non-Aboriginal women, but up for Aboriginal women.
*The abortion rate is the number of abortions per 1,000 women aged 15-44.
WHY DO ABORTIONS OCCUR?
In South Australia, abortion is legal when performed in a prescribed hospital by an authorized medical practitioner on a woman who has been a state resident for at least two months. Prior to the abortion, two medical practitioners must examine the woman and conclude that the continuation of pregnancy would be a greater risk to the woman's physical or mental health than abortion. Except to save the life of the mother, abortion cannot be performed after 28 weeks.
- In South Australia, 95% of all abortions are elective. They are performed for "mental health" reasons; 4% owe to fetal abnormality and 1% are performed for medical reasons.
In Western Australia, abortion is legal for any reason through 20 weeks if performed by a medical practitioner. Past 20 weeks, abortion must be approved by an appointed medical panel.
- In Western Australia, 3.2% of abortions owe to fetal abnormality.
WHEN DO ABORTIONS OCCUR?
- In South Australia, approximately 91% of all 2017 abortions happened during the first 14 weeks of pregnancy; 2.6% happened at 20 weeks or later.
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In Western Australia, approximately 6% of all 2018 abortions occurred after 13 weeks.
- Percentage of 2018 Reported Abortions by Weeks of Gestation* (Western Australia):
≤9 wks 10-13 wks 14-19 wks ≥20 wks 82.1% 11.8% 5.0% 1.1% *Gestational weeks are measured from the first day of the woman's last menstruation and not from the day of conception. Though it does not provide an accurate fetal age (which is roughly 2 weeks less than the gestational age), it is the simplest way for an OB/GYN to age a pregnancy since the day of conception is often not known. Hence, if an abortion occurs at 8 weeks gestation, it is actually aborting a 6 week embryo. The images on our Prenatal Development and Abortion Pictures pages are more precisely captioned with fetal ages in accordance with standard teaching texts on prenatal development.
HOW DOES ABORTION TAKE PLACE?
- In South Australia, 56% of all 2017 abortions were performed by vacuum aspiration or dilation and curettage; 35% were performed medically.
- In Western Australia, 51.5% of all 2018 abortions were performed by vacuum aspiration. Medical abortions made up 33%; D&E abortions accounted for 15%.
- In South Australia, 99% of all abortions are performed in public hospitals.
- In Western Australia, 86% of all abortions are performed in private day hospitals.
This page was last updated on February 08, 2021. To cite this page in a research paper, visit: "Citing Abort73 as a Source."
- Birth and population statistics come from the Australian Bureau of Statistics.
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