Three years ago, when Tony Abbott became Opposition Leader, women's groups went on the attack, convinced the man they labelled the 'Mad Monk' would set back women's progress particularly in areas like reproductive health.
How ironic that Australia now has its second female federal Health Minister and despite this, the Gillard Government shows little interest in improving the sorry state of Australia's fertility control.
Australia has one of the highest abortion rates in the world, over four times the rate of Holland, a country whose sensible policies have seen a dramatic fall in unintended pregnancy.
Whatever one's views on pregnancy termination, it is shocking that each year an estimated 70 to 90,000 Australian women face the stress of an abortion.
How shameful that these figures remain so high at a time when the choice of safe, reliable contraceptive methods has never been so great.
In fact, many of the recent breakthroughs in women's choices occurred under the Howard government: the emergency contraceptive pill (ECP) became available for sale over the counter; both the new hormone-releasing IUD, Mirena and the long acting implant, Implanan, were listed on the PBS; and after a long battle, doctors were able to obtain the abortion drug RU486 with Therapeutic Drug Administration approval.
There's been no real progress since Labor came to power.
Already the availability of the new long-acting devices is having some impact - teenage abortion rates have dropped by 5000 since 1992 and the overall rate seems likely to be down, although good national figures are not available.
These long-acting devices have the potential to dramatically reduce our abortion rate, if more women used them instead of the pill or condoms which depend on consistent, careful usage to be effective.
Too many women simply aren't aware of these excellent new contraceptives. There are plenty of sensible mothers now trying to teach their adolescent children to be careful, talking to them about condoms and advising daughters to go on the pill. Unfortunately many mums aren't aware that forgetful young people may be better off using long-acting devices they can simply forget about once in place. The American College of Obstetricians and Gynaecologists recently suggested that the long-acting contraceptives should now be the first option offered to women.
And when the young people head off for their overseas trip or move away for uni or new job, parents should think about tucking an emergency contraception pack complete with instructions into their suitcase - it could be the best present they have ever received. Yet despite this safeguard against unintended pregnancy now being available without a doctor's prescription, this is not widely known. There are so many myths about emergency contraception preventing people making better use of this last ditch protection.
Recent research by La Trobe's Mother and Child Health Research Centre showed many women believed it only worked the morning after, when it can be effective for up to five days. Two-thirds of women thought it could lead to birth defects if it did not prevent pregnancy - in fact the foetus is unaffected. And there are myths that the ECP affects future fertility - it doesn't. Over half of all Australian women (51 per cent) have experienced an unplanned pregnancy and 40 per cent of those women weren't using contraception at the time - according to research from Marie Stopes International.
That's just not good enough for a country where most women do have access to safe contraception. It shouldn't be so hard yet this female-led government shows no sign of tackling the malaise which hampers our country's efforts to reduce abortions. Despite regular inquiries and complaints about the patchy, limited sex education in schools, recommendations for a better, more comprehensive system are ignored.
Too many GPs are not up to date with the latest contraception devices and give poor advice to their patients. Our Family Planning services, despite constant funding constraints, do excellent work, including their latest project involving training nurses to insert the long-acting devices - an initiative with huge potential for rural and remote areas. Most critically, we need a government campaign to educate women about the new contraceptive choices, including emergency contraception, yet this is not even on the drawing board. The Gillard Government is happy to spend money on government campaigns about all manner of issues including the carbon tax, but also health reform, the NBN, sexual abuse, drugs, tobacco, sex discrimination, vaccination, organ donation, binge drinking - yet this issue so vital to women is ignored.
Never before has there been a greater need for accurate information about the use of the wide range of contraceptives now available, given regular scare stories by the media confusing the issue and myths and misinformation spread through internet chat sites.
Women's right to safe abortions must be protected but it is unconscionable for governments not to make every effort to help women avoid this fate.
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