Although it is always difficult to get an accurate picture of abortion numbers for Australia, we have been able to find the number of surgical abortions committed in Tasmania as well as the total of chemical abortions for the entire country.
From our President, Anne Sherston:
Two years ago, I requested from Freedom of Information in Tasmania the statistics on abortions. At that time, nothing was available. A couple of weeks ago, I received a phone call followed by an email asking if I still wanted the information.
The Tasmanian stats are only surgical; however, the person directed me to the Pharmaceutical Benefits Scheme to get the stats for RU486. You will find these all below.
I am now reluctant to go with the 88,000 (national) figure that keeps getting bandied about, because I don’t think this is accurate after seeing the figures below.
We have a lot of hard work ahead of us if we want to change the tide on abortion.
Surgical abortions in Tasmania
The first table shows the number of surgical abortions in Tasmania over five years. This information was obtained from the Dept of Health Tasmania, under the Freedom of Information act.
| Tasmania | 2020 – 2021 | 2021- 2022 | 2022 – 2023 | 2023 – 2024 | 2024 – 2025 |
| Surgical Abortions | 453 | 571 | 688 | 647 | 667 |
Chemical abortions throughout Australia
The second table shows the number of RU486 prescriptions that were obtained over a five-year period, from 2021 – 2026. This information was obtained from the Pharmaceutical Benefits Schedule Reports.
| Item No: 10211K | Scheme | NSW | VIC | QLD | SA | WA | TAS | ACT | NT | Total Services |
| PBS | 44,346 | 50,345 | 96,198 | 16,626 | 14,289 | 5,052 | 1385 | 3165 | 231,406 | |
| RPBS | 24 | 10 | 30 | 2 | 3 | 4 | 3 | 2 | 78 | |
| 2021-26 | Total | 44,370 | 50,355 | 96,228 | 16628 | 14,292 | 5056 | 1,388 | 3,167 | 231,484 |
KEY: PBS – Pharmaceutical Benefits Scheme / RPBS – Repatriation Pharmaceutical Benefits Scheme
