The 'Institutional Lottery': Institutional variation in the processes involved in accessing late abortion in Victoria, Australia.

Despite abortion being decriminalised in Victoria, Australia, access remains difficult, especially at later gestations. Institutions (i.e.

'The tabloid test': a qualitative interview study on the function and purpose of termination of pregnancy review committees in Victoria, Australia.

Background: Termination of pregnancy (TOP) is not an uncommon procedure. Availability varies greatly between jurisdictions; however, additional institutional processes beyond legislation can also impact care and service delivery. This study serves to examine the role institutional processes can play in the delivery of TOP services, in a jurisdiction where TOP is lawful at all gestations (Victoria, Australia).

Protecting Future Children from In-Utero Harm.

The actions of pregnant women can cause harm to their future children. However, even if the possible harm is serious and likely to occur, the law will generally not intervene. A pregnant woman is an autonomous person who is entitled to make her own decisions.

Ethical language and decision-making for prenatally diagnosed lethal malformations.

In clinical practice, and in the medical literature, severe congenital malformations such as trisomy 18, anencephaly, and renal agenesis are frequently referred to as 'lethal' or as 'incompatible with life'. However, there is no agreement about a definition of lethal malformations, nor which conditions should be included in this category. Review of outcomes for malformations commonly designated 'lethal' reveals that prolonged survival is possible, even if rare.

Homebirth and the future child.

Debate around homebirth typically focuses on the risk of maternal and perinatal mortality and morbidity--the primary focus is on deaths. There is little discussion on the risk of long-term disability to the future child. We argue that maternal and perinatal mortality are truly tragic outcomes, but focusing disproportionately on them overshadows the importance of harm to a future child created by avoidable, foreseeable disability.

Australian attitudes to early and late abortion.

Objective: To investigate community attitudes to abortion, including views on whether doctors should face sanctions for performing late abortion in a range of clinical and social situations.

Design, Setting And Participants: An anonymous online survey of 1050 Australians aged 18 years or older (stratified by sex, age and location) using contextualised questions, conducted between 28 and 31 July 2008.

Main Outcome Measures: Attitudes to abortion, particularly after 24 weeks' gestation.

Pregnant women with fetal abnormalities: the forgotten people in the abortion debate.

Abortion law reform focuses on early abortion. Women wanting to have a family who have a fetal abnormality detected later in pregnancy are neglected in the debate and harmed by the consequences of current legal uncertainty. Unclear abortion laws compromise: the quality of prenatal testing; management when an abnormality is found; and patient care, through obstetricians' fears of legal repercussions.

Abortion: time to clarify Australia's confusing laws.

Australian criminal law is a matter for states and territories. In relation to abortion, many laws are unclear and outdated, and are inconsistent between states and territories. Doctors practise under time constraints and on a case-by-case basis.

An ethical approach to giving couples information about their fetus.

The amount of information available to couples about the health of their fetus is increasing. An important question in prenatal diagnosis is what information should be given to couples, and how best to present it. It has been argued elsewhere that, in the absence of economic constraints on testing, there is no place for limiting the information available to couples about their fetus.

Words matter: nomenclature and communication in perinatal medicine.

The best interests of our patients are served by using language that both supports patient autonomy and is neutral. While it remains a "tentative" pregnancy (ie, before the completion of normal prenatal tests), the term "fetus" should be used. After normal prenatal testing, only in rare situations will the pregnant woman request an abortion.