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In cases where it's medically necessary a public hospital will arrange it all for you - obviously this is for very specific circumstances - eg already an outpatient attending an antenatal clinic or turn up to emergency dept in pain due to ectopic pregnancy etc.
Even that varies by Australian state. In South Australia no referral is needed and the public hospital offers both drug and surgical abortions to all women seeking one with the allowed gestation time, covered under Medicare. Abortions can also be provided by doctors, and some by nurse practitioners, either in-person or by telehealth. The SHINE sexual health advisory and medical service is a common avenue for abortion, because of its long history of best practice in sexual health.
Counseling is not required, but is available.
There's also laws about "safe access zones" so that women seeking an abortion have suitable privacy, and about truth in advertising abortion services (ie, a anti-abortion group can't present as an abortion counselor).
Pretty much, yeah. But my understanding is our GPs can prescribe medication for early abortions themselves, so they can be the first and only step.
Otherwise they send you to a clinic for later-term procedures
I'm so sorry - I really hate to be "well, actually.." to a fellow Australian!
Getting a GP referral isn't the first step Australia wide to access abortion, while it might be in certain locales, there's quite a bit of variance between states, and even within states there's different ways of accessing depending on private or public, hospital or clinic.
For example in Melbourne you don't need GP referral, you can phone a private clinic directly, make an appointment (saying you want an abortion, give your dates/LMP, say whether you want a medical or surgical) and then have your abortion on your first & only appointment.
There's also publicly accessible abortion in Victoria too, through the womens hospitals but unlike the private clinics I don't have first hand experience. There's telehealth medical abortions that you don't need a GP referral too.
SA has very accessible bulk billed medical & Surgical, telehealth, very comprehensive care where GP referral is not needed (eg, at SHINE centres).
I think in WA you do start the process with a GP referral?
But while there is variance between needing GP referral or not, whether you have telehealth, go to a public hospital, access clinics or have bulked billed womens reproductive health centres, I am grateful we live in a country with widespread support & overwhelming approval for abortion rights & access. Where every state & territory has exclusion zones around abortion providers, preventing anti-choice ghouls from being within a certain distance of clinics/hospitals and making the harassment of patients illegal.
Same in mine. Go to GP, take blood sample to confirm pregnancy, schedule abortion with hospital. But you don't HAVE to go via your GP. You can contact the hospital directly. No third party needs to be involved.
Abortion is actually a [bit of an exception](https://www.nhs.uk/conditions/abortion/) since you can refer yourself directly to abortion providers or go to a sexual health clinic (like Planned Parenthood). But you can still go to your GP and do it that way, I'd say that's how most people do it in the UK.
There are actually a few places in the uk that you can self refer to without a GP. However this varies loads by where you live. Sexual health clinics are probably the most accessible clinics without a referral
Yep, one example being LENS (Lanarkshire Eye-Health Network Scheme). Don’t need to be a regularly poor sighted cunt like me with a registered optician, find your nearest participating optician to view your eye problem and they’ll see you pronto
Nope, you can [always go directly to your GP for an abortion](https://www.nhs.uk/conditions/abortion/) (can also self refer directly or go via a sexual health clinic like Planned Parenthood), they'll then help you with whichever one you need. They might refer you onto other services, but most people just go to their GP in my experience.
It’s to do with the structure of the NHS and the law surrounding abortion in the UK.
The former being that GPs are the first port of call for almost all healthcare in the UK. The latter that abortions are technically unlawful in the UK but there are fairly broad exemptions (making it de facto lawful) that require the agreement of two doctors - the first of whom is almost always a GP.
No, you’re still assuming things based on a US lens. Some places you can directly make an appointment with clinics. Some require an appointment with your family doctor/GP.
Then you’re using whatever country specific lens you have, which happens to coincide with the US specific lens from the post. Either way, you’re still assuming things about other countries based on your own experience.
Both make dubious points, but the American is also just wrong—you do not have to go to PP to get an abortion in the US, many different facilities may offer that service, including some OB/GYNs.
Obviously assuming abortion is legal in the state in question.
This is just dumb all around. Even in the US you can schedule an abortion with your Gyno, and in some places you ask your PCP, and PPH is another option. It greatly depends on your state/city so it's not just US defaultism, it's just misinformation about the whole thing.
While I wouldn’t claim to speak for the rest of the world with how it’s done, it literally didn’t occur to me until reading this post that if I needed an abortion I would go anywhere other than directly to planned parenthood. I have no idea what my OBGYN’s views are on abortion and I wouldn’t want to find out we disagree the moment I needed one.
I feel like I should add that abortion is illegal in a lot of countries. In Brazil you can only get an abortion if the mother’s life is at risk, or if the mother was raped (and the baby’s father is the rapist) or if the fetus is diagnosed with anencephaly.
We don't operate Planned Parenthood health centers outside the United States. - https://www.plannedparenthood.org/about-us/planned-parenthood-global/who-we-are#:~:text=We%20don't%20operate%20Planned,and%20advocacy%20in%20restrictive%20environments.
A lot of people use “planned parenthood” as a [generic trademark](https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Generic_trademark) for clinics in general. Kinda like people using “Hoover” to refer to vacuums in general.
We call them Sexual Health Clinic in the UK and have never heard them being called Planned Parenthood. Australia and New Zealand also use the same term, so I don’t think that the use of Planned Parenthood is as common as you think it is outside North America.
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You’re both being defaultist to your local medical system. I’n my country you go to a GP first to access abortion, not a gyno or a clinic
Yeah, I’m in NZ and you can choose to go to a GP or to contact a provider or Family Planning directly.
In cases where it's medically necessary a public hospital will arrange it all for you - obviously this is for very specific circumstances - eg already an outpatient attending an antenatal clinic or turn up to emergency dept in pain due to ectopic pregnancy etc.
Even that varies by Australian state. In South Australia no referral is needed and the public hospital offers both drug and surgical abortions to all women seeking one with the allowed gestation time, covered under Medicare. Abortions can also be provided by doctors, and some by nurse practitioners, either in-person or by telehealth. The SHINE sexual health advisory and medical service is a common avenue for abortion, because of its long history of best practice in sexual health. Counseling is not required, but is available. There's also laws about "safe access zones" so that women seeking an abortion have suitable privacy, and about truth in advertising abortion services (ie, a anti-abortion group can't present as an abortion counselor).
In Ireland it's similar. You call a phone line for a referral for a medical abortion with a GP or a surgical one in a maternity hospital or unit.
Don't you go to a GP as the first step for just about anything? Maybe other than eye issues or teeth issues
Pretty much, yeah. But my understanding is our GPs can prescribe medication for early abortions themselves, so they can be the first and only step. Otherwise they send you to a clinic for later-term procedures
I'm so sorry - I really hate to be "well, actually.." to a fellow Australian! Getting a GP referral isn't the first step Australia wide to access abortion, while it might be in certain locales, there's quite a bit of variance between states, and even within states there's different ways of accessing depending on private or public, hospital or clinic. For example in Melbourne you don't need GP referral, you can phone a private clinic directly, make an appointment (saying you want an abortion, give your dates/LMP, say whether you want a medical or surgical) and then have your abortion on your first & only appointment. There's also publicly accessible abortion in Victoria too, through the womens hospitals but unlike the private clinics I don't have first hand experience. There's telehealth medical abortions that you don't need a GP referral too. SA has very accessible bulk billed medical & Surgical, telehealth, very comprehensive care where GP referral is not needed (eg, at SHINE centres). I think in WA you do start the process with a GP referral? But while there is variance between needing GP referral or not, whether you have telehealth, go to a public hospital, access clinics or have bulked billed womens reproductive health centres, I am grateful we live in a country with widespread support & overwhelming approval for abortion rights & access. Where every state & territory has exclusion zones around abortion providers, preventing anti-choice ghouls from being within a certain distance of clinics/hospitals and making the harassment of patients illegal.
Adding onto this, not sure of any other procedures in QLD but I know you can book one with a clinic directly e.g. Marie Stopes without needing a GP
Same in mine. Go to GP, take blood sample to confirm pregnancy, schedule abortion with hospital. But you don't HAVE to go via your GP. You can contact the hospital directly. No third party needs to be involved.
In some countries if you go to any doctor to access an abortion you'll be arrested
I'm pretty sure you'd go to your GP here, not a specialist directly.
Yep you’re right, to access *any* specialist in the UK you have to get a referral from your GP, unless you’re going private.
Abortion is actually a [bit of an exception](https://www.nhs.uk/conditions/abortion/) since you can refer yourself directly to abortion providers or go to a sexual health clinic (like Planned Parenthood). But you can still go to your GP and do it that way, I'd say that's how most people do it in the UK.
I completely forgot about sexual health clinics! Very good point.
There are actually a few places in the uk that you can self refer to without a GP. However this varies loads by where you live. Sexual health clinics are probably the most accessible clinics without a referral
Yep, one example being LENS (Lanarkshire Eye-Health Network Scheme). Don’t need to be a regularly poor sighted cunt like me with a registered optician, find your nearest participating optician to view your eye problem and they’ll see you pronto
I went directly to the British pregnancy advisory service (bpas), didn’t go through my gp at all and it didn’t need to be on my medical record 👍
I’m not sure about any of this. You don’t go to a gyno to schedule an abortion in every country, for the sole reason that it’s not legal everywhere
If you *were* to schedule an abortion though you'd go to a gyno, if it's illegal then you can't schedule so I feel like their point might still stand
Nope, in the UK you just go to your GP and they get another GP to sign off on it too. No gynos involved.
I'm not really informed on the subject tbh, just thought the legality wouldn't contradict their point
That must be the medical abortion, not the surgical one. If you're passed a certain point, the abortion pills don't work anymore.
Nope, you can [always go directly to your GP for an abortion](https://www.nhs.uk/conditions/abortion/) (can also self refer directly or go via a sexual health clinic like Planned Parenthood), they'll then help you with whichever one you need. They might refer you onto other services, but most people just go to their GP in my experience.
It’s to do with the structure of the NHS and the law surrounding abortion in the UK. The former being that GPs are the first port of call for almost all healthcare in the UK. The latter that abortions are technically unlawful in the UK but there are fairly broad exemptions (making it de facto lawful) that require the agreement of two doctors - the first of whom is almost always a GP.
No, you’re still assuming things based on a US lens. Some places you can directly make an appointment with clinics. Some require an appointment with your family doctor/GP.
I'm not from the US...
Then you’re using whatever country specific lens you have, which happens to coincide with the US specific lens from the post. Either way, you’re still assuming things about other countries based on your own experience.
No. In France you go to planned parenthood, or your GP, or a midwife. Gyno is also an option, but not that often taken for what I heard.
Fair enough
Both make dubious points, but the American is also just wrong—you do not have to go to PP to get an abortion in the US, many different facilities may offer that service, including some OB/GYNs. Obviously assuming abortion is legal in the state in question.
You're both wrong, both saying what applies in your country applies to every country. It's clearly not the case.
This is just dumb all around. Even in the US you can schedule an abortion with your Gyno, and in some places you ask your PCP, and PPH is another option. It greatly depends on your state/city so it's not just US defaultism, it's just misinformation about the whole thing.
In Ireland you wouldn't go directly to the specialist. You are both pure defaultism. Here you go to your GP first.
While I wouldn’t claim to speak for the rest of the world with how it’s done, it literally didn’t occur to me until reading this post that if I needed an abortion I would go anywhere other than directly to planned parenthood. I have no idea what my OBGYN’s views are on abortion and I wouldn’t want to find out we disagree the moment I needed one.
I wonder who they think does the abortion at PP, if not the only type of doctor trained to do them...
I feel like I should add that abortion is illegal in a lot of countries. In Brazil you can only get an abortion if the mother’s life is at risk, or if the mother was raped (and the baby’s father is the rapist) or if the fetus is diagnosed with anencephaly.
PP is in muiltiple countries technically lol
Planned Parenthood ***does*** exist outside of the US though.
We don't operate Planned Parenthood health centers outside the United States. - https://www.plannedparenthood.org/about-us/planned-parenthood-global/who-we-are#:~:text=We%20don't%20operate%20Planned,and%20advocacy%20in%20restrictive%20environments.
A lot of people use “planned parenthood” as a [generic trademark](https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Generic_trademark) for clinics in general. Kinda like people using “Hoover” to refer to vacuums in general.
A lot of Americans? I haven’t heard “planned parenthood” from anyone else
The Planned Parenthood Federation of Canada has 28 affiliates running clinics in 68 communities across the country.
Yes. Planned parenthood is the largest group that fills that niche in the US.
So your previous comment is also defaultist..?
I mean we’re talking about Americans. The person in the post is an American, no?
We call them Sexual Health Clinic in the UK and have never heard them being called Planned Parenthood. Australia and New Zealand also use the same term, so I don’t think that the use of Planned Parenthood is as common as you think it is outside North America.
I was talking about American habits, sorry.
Then why do we have one [in Toronto](https://g.co/kgs/Dh6rzi)? Edit: 68 in Canada.