{"id":84143,"date":"2025-07-22T20:58:21","date_gmt":"2025-07-22T20:58:21","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/us\/84143\/"},"modified":"2025-07-22T20:58:21","modified_gmt":"2025-07-22T20:58:21","slug":"mater-hospitals-religious-abortion-ban-left-couple-feeling-abandoned","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/us\/84143\/","title":{"rendered":"Mater Hospital’s religious abortion ban left couple feeling ‘abandoned’"},"content":{"rendered":"

After a miscarriage and unsuccessful IVF attempts, Brisbane woman Elisa and her husband Brent were feeling cautiously joyful at their 12-week pregnancy scan early this year.<\/p>\n

It showed a “beautiful baby” with ten little fingers and ten little toes.<\/p>\n

Readers are advised this story contains distressing content.<\/strong><\/p>\n

“I have to say we did fall in love with our little baby girl and we were \u2026 really thinking that it’s finally happening for us,” Elisa said.<\/p>\n

That joy came crashing down less than 30 minutes later.<\/p>\n

\"Elisa<\/p>\n

Brent and Elisa on their wedding day. (Supplied)<\/p>\n

The Brisbane couple, who met and fell in love when they were aged in their 40s, were still at the Mater when they were notified a prenatal test result had arrived.<\/p>\n

It had been delayed due to processing errors and showed their baby was at high risk of a serious genetic abnormality.<\/p>\n

What came next compounded their grief and prompted them to speak out.<\/p>\n

Further testing confirmed the diagnosis, but the parents were informed the Catholic-run Mater did not provide terminations of pregnancy, including when the foetus had a serious medical condition.<\/p>\n

Where to find help:<\/strong><\/p>\n

Elisa was a private outpatient, but the rules against terminations \u2014 except when a mother’s life is at risk \u2014 apply at all Mater hospitals, including the large taxpayer-funded Mater Mothers’ Hospital at South Brisbane.<\/p>\n

The 42-year-old was offered a “workaround” by a private obstetrician who prescribed her medication in an attempt to stop the baby’s heartbeat.<\/p>\n

That would allow a doctor to do a dilation and curettage \u2014 a surgical procedure to remove the pregnancy \u2014 at the Mater once there were no signs of life.<\/p>\n

It was a compromise that did not work and left Elisa, who is a respected scientist, “disturbed and in distress”.<\/p>\n

“Imagine you have this pregnancy you’ve been hoping for so dearly and deeply and you want this pregnancy but you’re being asked to take a pill,” she said.<\/p>\n

“I was asked to do the termination on my own, left to my own devices, sitting on the couch with my husband and going through hell.”<\/p><\/blockquote>\n

The couple’s nightmare deepened when the heartbeat did not stop as Elisa approached the 14-week mark, edging closer to the cut-off for a surgical termination.<\/p>\n

\"Elisa\"<\/p>\n

Elisa says the Mater’s policies left her feeling abandoned. (ABC News: Mark Leonardi)<\/p>\n

Elisa did not want to endure an induction and labour.<\/p>\n

“Under no circumstances did I want to go through this process. I was already so emotionally broken,” she said.<\/p>\n

Another obstetrician scrambled to find a private clinic south of Brisbane to conduct a surgical termination at a cost to the pair of around $1,500.<\/p>\n

\"A<\/p>\n

Elisa and Brent say the Mater’s policies added to their grief. (ABC News: Mark Leonardi)<\/p>\n

It was a “devastating” experience for the couple, who chose the Mater “because we wanted to have continuous care, but we were abandoned instead”.<\/p>\n

“I assumed that a world-class hospital would be offering world-class pregnancy services and sometimes in a pregnancy things don’t go to plan,” Elisa said.<\/p>\n

“No matter how much you want this pregnancy and how careful you are and whatever you do, sometimes there is a termination for medical reasons necessary.”<\/p>\n

Have you got a similar story?<\/strong><\/p>\n

Contact Emma Pollard<\/strong> at qld.news@abc.net.au<\/a><\/p>\n

Largest maternity hospital does not provide all care<\/p>\n

According to its last annual report, Mater Mothers is “Australia’s largest maternity services provider” with one in five Queensland babies born at its hospitals in Brisbane, Townsville, Mackay and Rockhampton.<\/p>\n

ABC News asked the Mater for an interview about its Catholic-based ethos<\/a> and bans on abortion and temporary or permanent contraceptive procedures, but it declined.<\/p>\n

\"A<\/p>\n

Mater Mothers is “Australia’s largest maternity services provider”, with one in five Queensland babies born at its hospitals. (ABC News: Mark Leonardi)<\/p>\n

In a statement, a spokesperson said: “Mater respects every woman’s right to follow her conscience in making medical decisions, including requests for an elective termination.<\/p>\n

“We understand this is a difficult decision often made under distressing circumstances,” the statement said.<\/p>\n

The Mater said its health services would “ensure patients can access other services to discuss treatment options”.<\/p>\n

\"A<\/p>\n

An obstetrician described Mater’s abortion ban as a “long-standing disgrace”. (ABC News: Mark Leonardi)<\/p>\n

But an experienced obstetrician, who works at a different Brisbane hospital, said Mater patients requiring a termination were “more often than not” told “we can’t help you” or “see your GP”.<\/p>\n

“One of the main issues with this is if a woman waits or is delayed until 16 weeks to proceed to termination, it is unsafe to proceed surgically under anaesthesia and they have no option but to proceed to a medical termination where mid-trimester labour is induced and she has to deliver the baby vaginally whilst completely aware of what is going on,” they said.<\/p>\n

The specialist, who has some dealings with the Mater and so does not want to be named, described the rules as a “long-standing disgrace”.<\/p>\n

“I regularly see couples who have had a significant foetal genetic or structural diagnosis made, often lethal, and want to pursue termination as an option and are frequently told: ‘we can’t help you,'” the doctor said.<\/p>\n

When asked how many Mater patients \u2014 public or private \u2014 were directed elsewhere for pregnancy terminations and contraceptive procedures last year, the spokesperson said: “That information is not collected by Mater.”<\/p>\n

\"a<\/p>\n

Queensland Health wouldn’t confirm how much funding the Mater receives. (ABC News: Mark Leonardi)<\/p>\n

More than 5,700 babies were delivered at the Mater Mothers public hospital at South Brisbane in 2023-24.<\/p>\n

Queensland Health would not confirm how much taxpayer funding the hospital received, saying, “any contractual arrangements between Queensland Health and Mater are commercial-in-confidence”.<\/p>\n

The non-Mater obstetrician said contraception and terminations were “a cornerstone” of women’s health.<\/p>\n

“I can’t for the life of me understand how the church runs the major women’s health service on the south side of Brisbane, under their rules, paid for by the taxpayer,” they said.<\/p>\n

Abortion is legal, but access can be difficult<\/p>\n

Abortion was decriminalised in Queensland seven years ago and is allowed on request until 22 weeks’ gestation.<\/p>\n

After that point in a pregnancy, sign-off is required by two medical practitioners.<\/p>\n

The Termination of Pregnancy Act 2018 says a health practitioner with a conscientious objection to performing a termination must disclose it and “must refer the woman or transfer her care” to another registered practitioner who can provide the service.<\/p>\n

\"A<\/p>\n

Abortion was decriminalised in Queensland in 2018. (ABC News: Mark Leonardi)<\/p>\n

The Mater said it ensured patients could access other services “consistent with current legislative requirements”.<\/p>\n

While Elisa said she initially had no idea about the Mater’s ban on terminations, the organisation said it was “clear about what services fall within our scope of practice”.<\/p>\n

“Like most public hospitals in Australia, Mater does not offer elective surgical terminations,” a spokesperson said.<\/p>\n

Research fellow at La Trobe University Dr Erica Millar examines abortion laws and provision.<\/p>\n

She said the Mater Mothers’ Hospital’s status as one of only four tertiary-level maternity centres in Queensland sets it apart from most other public hospitals.<\/p>\n

\"woman<\/p>\n

La Trobe University research fellow Dr Erica Millar says that as a level six, tertiary level hospital, the Mater should be providing the most comprehensive and complex gynaecological care available. (ABC News: Billy Draper)<\/p>\n

“As a level six, or tertiary-level hospital, it should be providing the most comprehensive and complex gynaecological care available and it’s clearly not doing this,” Dr Millar said.<\/p>\n

She said other Catholic-run hospitals that did not deliver abortion care included the Mercy Hospital in Melbourne and St John of God hospital in Perth.<\/p>\n

“I think we should be asking the question of whether or not public funds should be directed to hospitals that are refusing to provide certain gynaecological services,” she said.<\/p>\n

ABC News asked Queensland Health Minister Tim Nicholls if the government would re-examine its funding agreement with the Mater Mothers’ Hospital.<\/p>\n

A spokesperson did not provide a direct response, saying: “The funding and delivery of public patient health services for Queensland Health by Mater is under the provisions of the Mater Public Health Services Act 2008.”<\/p>\n

“Mater complies with all state and federal legislative health requirements including the Termination of Pregnancy Act 2018, including the provision of termination pathways for private and public patients,” the spokesperson said.<\/p>\n

\"A<\/p>\n

Elisa and Brent say they were not afforded evidence-based or compassionate health care. (ABC News: Mark Leonardi)<\/p>\n

Dr Millar also said centres that objected to providing abortions should have a “formal referral pathway” to another institution that delivered “timely abortion care that’s free”.<\/p>\n

Children by Choice provides support for people seeking help with all pregnancy options and runs counselling and referral services.<\/p>\n

CEO Liliana Montague said it was “not uncommon” for pregnant women to contact the service because they could not obtain terminations through the Mater.<\/p>\n

\"Liliana<\/p>\n

Children by Choice chief executive Liliana Montague says abortion access remains a challenge. (ABC News: Mark Leonardi)<\/p>\n

She said there was “a lot of work to be done” to improve abortion access in Queensland.<\/p>\n

“It’s about making the journey as risk-free and compassionate as possible and we’d like to see the changes to those barriers \u2026 removed as quickly as possible,” Ms Montague said.<\/p>\n

The Mater was established by the Sisters of Mercy in 1906 with a tradition of compassionate care the organisation says remains at its core today.<\/p>\n

But Elisa and Brent say they were not afforded evidence-based or compassionate health care.<\/p>\n

“Having a religious doctrine taking away this service that I as a Queenslander am eligible for, a termination for medical reasons, or a termination for any reasons, was absolutely devastating,” Elisa said.<\/p>\n

\"Elisa<\/p>\n

Loved ones supported the couple at a memorial service for their unborn baby, leaving them keepsakes.\u00a0 (ABC News: Mark Leonardi)<\/p>\n

She called on the Mater to update its rules on terminations.<\/p>\n

“I want to make sure no other woman, no other parents have to go through the same torture that we’ve been through,” Elisa said.<\/p>\n

“We’ve been through hell.”<\/p><\/blockquote>\n

The couple’s longing to have a child continues.<\/p>\n

In March, they held a backyard memorial service with loved ones to pay tribute to their unborn baby.<\/p>\n

They named her Hope.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"After a miscarriage and unsuccessful IVF attempts, Brisbane woman Elisa and her husband Brent were feeling cautiously joyful…\n","protected":false},"author":3,"featured_media":84144,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[2],"tags":[3789,4740,24127,57060,57057,57058,50,20989,4757,11164,57059],"class_list":{"0":"post-84143","1":"post","2":"type-post","3":"status-publish","4":"format-standard","5":"has-post-thumbnail","7":"category-news","8":"tag-abortion","9":"tag-australia","10":"tag-childbirth","11":"tag-genetic-abnormalities","12":"tag-mater","13":"tag-mater-mothers-hospital","14":"tag-news","15":"tag-parenthood","16":"tag-parenting","17":"tag-pregnancy","18":"tag-pregnancy-termination"},"share_on_mastodon":{"url":"https:\/\/pubeurope.com\/@us\/114898895963046838","error":""},"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/84143","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/3"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=84143"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/84143\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/84144"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=84143"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=84143"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=84143"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}