"Don't worry, the worst side effect would be you died."
Anna Groth vividly remembers the doctor's morbid joke as he waved away the unease she felt about the pain in her abdomen and handed her the abortion drugs.
Less than 24 hours after she left the clinic, Ms Groth was lying in an emergency bay, septic and in excruciating pain.
"I remember being incredibly ill. Something was very wrong, and then they told me I was miscarrying," Ms Groth said.
The 27-year-old waited five days in the Sydney hospital, told her doctor was not allowed to perform an abortion - or eventually remove the dead tissue that had once been a foetus - until his superior had signed off on the procedure.
"It was terrifying; knowing someone else had complete control over my body," Ms Groth said.
Her condition was so serious she was on the verge of being transferred to intensive care.
"The doctors and nurses just kept apologising," the health science student said. "They said if it were their decision they would have done it earlier. They said it was a political hold up."
Staff told her the hospital needed to make absolutely sure it wouldn't run afoul of NSW law, where abortion is a criminal offence.
The NSW Crimes Act states "a woman with child" can be jailed for up to 10 years if she "unlawfully administers to herself any drug or noxious thing, or unlawfully uses any instrument or other means" to terminate her pregnancy.
But for the first time on Thursday, a bill to decriminalise abortion will be introduced for debate in NSW parliament.
Greens MP Mehreen Faruqi planned to call on her colleagues to support the decriminalisation of abortion, striking it from the NSW Crimes Act.
But her second-reading speech covering her abortion reform bill - which was first in the order of precedence in parliament - was knocked off the running list.
It's an issue the NSW Parliament has been avoiding for 100 years, Dr Faruqi said.
"This bill would make it clear that women have the right to make decisions about their own bodies.
"Decriminalising abortion is essential. Women and all people choosing to have an abortion as well as their doctors are not criminals and we need to remove the stigma and shame associated with it," she said.
The bill also seeks to create a 150 metre buffer zone around abortion clinics to protect patient privacy, and allows doctors to conscientiously object provided they refer patients to another doctor who holds no objection, or a women's health service.
With the exception of Queensland, all other states and territories have legislated to protect a woman's right to lawful abortion.
A loophole added the the NSW Crime Act in 1971 stipulated abortion is not unlawful if a doctor believes it is necessary to save a woman's life, or protect her physical or mental health.
The definition of "mental health" was expanded in 1995 to include economic or social stress.
In practice abortions are frequently performed in NSW. But doctors and patients do so under threat of prosecution, with the possibility that a law court may decide the patient may not meet the criteria, said Sydney lawyer Julie Hamblin who specialises in reproductive rights.
Abortion operates in a "grey zone"; almost always provided by private clinics at great expense, which can be prohibitive for many women, Ms Hamblin said.
"We know it's still one of the most common medical procedures performed in Australia yet it has to be performed in this state of uncertainty in NSW.
"[Decriminalisation] is long overdue. Really we shouldn't be arguing about it," she said.
Paul Nattress, Practice Manager at The Private Clinic - a frequent target of anti-abortion protesters - said women often don't know abortion is a criminal offence until they need one.
"They come in expecting abortion falls under the same medical guidelines as any other medical procedure," he said.
Patients wonder why are being asked a litany of seemingly irrelevant questions as the doctor tries to establish whether there are mental health or socioeconomic grounds for an abortion.
"Women should be trusted to make these decisions themselves without a doctor having to establish legal requirements," he said.
Dr Faruqi still plans to lay out the case for law reform and present her finalised bill in her second-reading speech.
With the potential for both major parties to offer member a conscience vote on the issue later this year, Dr Faruqi is hopeful the bill will pass.
"I think the numbers in the Upper House are closer than people realise and there are supporters of this reform in all the major parties," she said.
But conservative MPs could derail the bill. Christian Democrat Reverend Fred Nile has repeatedly, though unsuccessfully, sought to strengthen abortion laws.
A separate private member's bill by Labor MP Penny Sharpe also seeks to create 150-metre anti-protest buffer zones around abortion clinics to protect patients from harassment.
More than a year after Ms Groth paid $560 for her botched abortion, she is adamant decriminalisation would allow women to access safe, affordable abortions in a public system equipped to perform them routinely.
"I was at the core of a political stalemate … no one should have their physical health put at risk for this," she said.
Update: Thursday 12pm
Dr Faruqi said the development in parliament this morning that saw the second-reading of her bill struck of the running list was "completely unexpected and disappointing" and blamed the major parties for shutting it down.
"We moved an amendment to restore the bill to be introduced today, which the major parties voted down," she said.
But others in parliament have cast the blame on the Greens the failure of the bill to appear.
A Greens representative failed to attend – or, according to those in the party, was marginally late – to a regular meeting of representatives of major and minor parties on Wednesday night to determine which proposals come before parliament.
Without the Greens there it was agreed to debate other bills about the stolen generation and steel imports in favour of the abortion proposal.
But one major party source, who said they supported in principle Dr Faruqi's bill, said it had been felled by a failure of planning.
"This was a poorly thought through stunt," the source said. "There are lots of ways to get this on the agenda: she just didn't follow them".
But the Greens say there was ample time to consider the bill which the major parties were reluctant to tackle. It will now next be slated for consideration in August.
Abortion in NSW
1861: The Offences Against the Person Act 1961 stipulated a woman "being with child, who, with intent to procure her own miscarriage" will be "be kept in penal servitude for life . . ."
1971: The Levine court ruling amended the law to consider abortion lawful if it the pregnancy threatened a woman's life, physical or mental health.
1990: The NSW Crimes Act 1900: unlawful abortion was punishable by up to ten years imprisonment for women, doctors and anyone who assists.
1995: Definition of "Mental health" was expanded to include "the effects of economic or social stress that may pertain either during pregnancy or after birth"
2015: The Controversial Zoe's Law bill, which declared an unborn child a "legal person", was passed in the lower house, but was blocked in upper house.
Abortion laws across Australia
Queensland & NSW: A crime for women and doctors. Only legal when doctor believes a woman's physical and/or mental health is in serious danger. In NSW social, economic and medical factors fall under 'mental health'.
South Australia: The first Australian state to legalise in 1969. Two doctors must agree that a woman's physical and/or mental health is endangered, or for serious foetal abnormality.
Northern Territory: Legalised in 1974 up to 14 weeks if two doctors agree that woman's physical and/or mental health is endangered , or for serious foetal abnormality.
Western Australia: Legalised in 1998 up to 20 weeks. Very restricted after 20 weeks.
Australian Capital Territory: Decriminalised in 2002. Must be provided by medical doctor.
Victoria: Decriminalised in 2008. Legal up to 24 weeks. Post-24 weeks two doctors must approve.
Tasmania: Decriminalised in 2013. Legal up to 16 weeks. Over 16 weeks requires the approval of two doctors.
With James Robertson and Emily Smith
