Abortion at Age Nine
by Michael Barnard, Sunday Herald Sun, November 26, 1995
GIRLS under nine years of age are having abortions, according to the latest government figures.
Health Insurance Commission figures for NSW show three girls aged nine or under, and 81 under 14 had abortions in 1993/94.
The previous year, seven girls under nine and 100 under 14 had abortions.
The commission figures show that around Australia 12,085 girls aged 15-19 had abortions in 1993/94.
The total number of abortions in Australia continues to increase with 77,231 last year, at a cost to the taxpayer of $9.3 million.
There were 75,845 abortions in 1993/94, 73,296 in 1992/93 and 72,566 in 1991/92.
Catholic Church spokesman Father Brian Lucas said yesterday: "People are not facing the consequences of their sexual activity. It’s a tragedy when young girls are exploited in this way."
Fr Lucas attacked the Federal Government for paying for abortions while funding fertility services.
He said previous terminations were a cause of infertility in many women seeking IVF treatment.
Youth health expert Professor Glen Bowes said the figures for abortions in very young girls could reflect a range of gynecological conditions such as tumors and false pregnancies, rather than abortions.
Prof. Bowes, of the department of adolescent health at Melbourne University, said abortions involving very young girls could also be the result of rape or sexual abuse.
He said the "victim of abuse" abortion was a very different issue to pregnancy and abortion resulting from teenage sex.
He also said there was an urgent need for condom vending machines in schools.
"Everything should be done to give younger people greater access to condoms in order to reduce the rates of sexually transmitted diseases and teenage pregnancies," he said.
Professor Bowes said Australia’s teen pregnancy rate was one-third that of the US.
However, the Family Planning Association said the figures underestimated the number of abortions in Australia by about 15 per cent.
A report last year by the Australian Institute of Health and Welfare found that teen pregnancies appeared to be on the rise - despite the high abortion rate.
The institute’s report said almost 15,000 teenage girls had become mothers in 1993.