Sarah Game won't rule out introducing another bill to restrict late term abortion

Sarah Game won't rule out introducing further bill to restrict late term abortion Thu 18 Jun 2026 at 3:14pm In short: Family First upper house MLC Sarah Game has not ruled out introducing another bill restricting late-term abortion access. Ms Game's proposed legislation to restrict abortions after 25 weeks failed in the lower house on Wednesday night. What's next? Premier Peter Malinauskas was in support of the bill, but says he is not interested in a group of people obsessed with the issue "hijacking" parliament. Family First upper house MLC Sarah Game has not ruled out introducing another bill restricting late-term abortion access, after her proposed legislation to restrict abortions after 25 weeks failed in the lower house last night. Ms Game's bill passed the upper house yesterday afternoon 10 votes to 9 with the support of three newly-elected One Nation MPs, but was voted down in the lower house 36 votes to 9, following less than two hours of debate. "I'm not ruling anything out at the moment, but I'm going to have to have a really good look and probably a really good speak to people who voted against the bill and understand, whether there's actually any movement there on further conversation," Ms Game told ABC 891 Adelaide. Ms Game's bill would have effectively banned abortion from 25 weeks onwards except when necessary to save the life of the mother or in cases of serious fetal abnormalities. The original bill precluded fetal abnormalities as a reason for access to a late-term abortion, however the exemption was later included after an amendment by Labor MP Tung Ngo. South Australian law permits abortions after 23 weeks, with the approval of two doctors, if the continuation of the pregnancy would involve "significant risk of injury to the physical or mental health" of the pregnant person. Ms Game's bill would have removed that exemption. She had previously argued that the bill would "protect vulnerable human life", but those who voted against the bill said it contradicted the advice of medical professionals. Premier Peter Malinauskas and opposition leader Ashton Hurn both voted in favour of the bill, but neither spoke in parliament. "Unfortunately, [the bill] failed the lower house, but did have the support of the premier and the leader of the opposition, which I thought was quite telling,"Ms Game said. The former One Nation member said she was not feeling confident after the lower house vote, but expected some of the MPs who voted against the bill would lose their seats at the next election. "I think the support of the premier, the support of the leader of the opposition, the support of the upper house, the support of the people outside protesting shows that actually community sentiment is changing," Ms Game said. "I think a lot of those lower house members are completely out of touch. "So I certainly think change is on the horizon, whether or not it's on the horizon this term of parliament — no, I'm not confident, but I am intending on going around and investigating that further with my lower house colleagues." On Thursday morning, the premier spoke to media about his decision. "I voted consistently, my view has always been that abortions should always be safe, legal and rare and I've had particular concerns around very late-term abortions and last night's vote just reflected the same way that I've voted in the recent past," Mr Malinauskas said. The premier said he retained his support for decriminalising abortion in 2021. "I supported, back then, amendments to that proposed legislation that pertained to late-term abortions, but those amendments failed and I ultimately supported the bill because I support the decriminalisation of abortion," Mr Malinauskas said. "In SA there are restrictions on late-term abortions, and the bill yesterday adjusted what those restrictions were in a way, that I thought was credible. "But on balance what we have here is a regime that I think is appropriate in terms of abortions being safe and accessible for women." Mr Malinauskas said it was a political decision for the lower house to immediately debate the bill once it was passed yesterday afternoon. "We're not going to have a group of people who seem to be completely obsessed by this issue, hijack the whole parliament," he said. The premier added he was not at all surprised by the resounding no vote in the lower house. On Thursday, Ms Hurn also encouraged her colleagues to "focus on issues that were facing South Australia." "This is a bill that has now been comprehensively defeated," she said. "I want to be really clear that I support access to safe and legal abortion in South Australia. "That would not have changed if this bill was supported in the lower house, what this bill would have done is to add another guard rail at six months of pregnancy. "There is already a clear legal framework in place and what this proposal would have done is to add another guard rail in at six months, which I believe is sensible." Speaking to ABC 891 AM, Health Minister Blair Boyer said it was "rare" to see a vote so decisive. "The vote … was probably one of the most decisive votes I think we have seen for a conscience vote in the lower house of the South Australian Parliament," he said. Mr Boyer said his vote was consistent with how he had voted when South Australia decriminalised abortion in 2021. "I felt that as the minister for health, it was incumbent on me not to be silent and to speak up and use that opportunity to read into Hansard, the voices of some of our most eminent medical associations who had voiced their own opinions and views on the legislation," he said. "That includes the Royal Australian New Zealand College of Obstetricians and Gynaecologists, the AMA, College of Nurses and Midwives — these are organisations that on any normal given day we would absolutely take the advice of on matters like this."