SICK: Women are cashing in after late-term abortions using Australia’s stillbirth policy

Pro-life advocates are blowing the whistle on a stillbirth policy in Australia which also allows women who choose to undergo late-term abortions to receive payment from the government afterwards — even in amounts of over $20,000.

Key Takeaways:

• A leaked letter from Senator Katy Gallagher confirmed that women can receive money from the government after undergoing late-term abortions.

• The money is actually earmarked for women who experience stillbirths, but Gallagher admitted in the letter that abortions qualify as well.

• If women choosing to abort their children after 20 weeks apply for Parental Leave Pay, they might receive as much as $22,754.

The Details:

Australian journalist Kurt Mahlburg and Dr. Joanna Howe both reported that the payments are delivered through Centrelink, part of Services Australia — the agency which handles payments, support, and resources for individuals and families. Mahlburg was able to obtain a letter from Gallagher, which confirmed that intentional abortions qualify for the program.

In addition to serving as a senator, Gallagher serves as the Minister for Women and Government Services. In the letter, she responded to an unnamed person asking for clarification about the Stillborn Baby Payment. She replied (emphasis added):

Stillborn Baby Payment is a one-off non taxable payment that provides financial assistance with the extra costs associated with a stillborn baby. Services Australia (the Agency) is responsible for the administration of Stillborn Baby Payment and for making determinations for payment of claims, on behalf of the Department of Social Services.

The eligibility criteria for Stillborn Baby Payment does not exclude circumstances where the stillbirth was due to a medical termination, including an intentional abortion, provided the child has been certified by a qualified medical practitioner as having been delivered and the definition of a stillborn child has been met.

Dr Joanna Howe

@ProfJoannaHowe

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This is conclusive proof from senior Labor Minister Katy Gallagher: the Australian government is paying women thousands of dollars to have late term abortions. This is the most repulsive scandal in the history of our country, and a slap in the face to women who have suffered the

12:34 PM · Jul 28, 2025

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The requirements for a baby to qualify as stillborn involve weight (at least 400 grams) or gestation (at least 20 weeks), and the baby must not have taken a breath or had a heartbeat following delivery. The mother must put in a claim for the payment within one year of the stillbirth.

Women can receive $4,327 for the Stillborn Baby Payment. However, that number skyrockets by nearly $20,000 if they apply for Parental Leave Pay.

Howe has officially launched a petition calling for the government to stop the program from being exploited to include late-term abortions, which intentionally kill preborn children.

Mahlburg posted a detailed thread on X regarding the situation, stating (emphases added):

The letter explains: “The eligibility criteria… do not exclude… medical termination, including an intentional abortion.” The Stillborn Baby Payment — which was designed for grieving mothers — is being extended to those who choose to end a child’s life after 20 weeks….

The payments are quietly available through Centrelink thanks to the government’s slippery definition of a “stillbirth.”

What qualifies as a stillbirth? – At least 20 weeks’ gestation – No signs of life at delivery – Delivered by medical induction That’s exactly what occurs in a late-term abortion after a lethal injection of potassium chloride or digoxin into the baby’s heart….

Some claim late-term abortions only happen in life-threatening cases. Not so. In SA from 2022–2024:

– 105 late-term abortions

– Only 1 to save the mother’s life

– 79 were healthy babies

In VIC (2020): – 129 late-term abortions for non-emergency, non- abnormality reasons

… Who oversees all this? Senator Katy Gallagher…. As a member of EMILY’s List, she pledged to uphold pro-abortion priorities.

Even more disturbing: This payment is also available to the *partner* of the woman. According to the letter, “the birth mother or their partner” may claim the payment. What happens when the man was the one who pushed for the abortion? That concern is not hypothetical….

Dr Howe has gathered 39,000+ signatures calling for the [Prime Minister Anthony] Albanese government to end this practice…. Australians deserve to know why their hard-earned money is being used for this.

Zoom Out:

Late-term induced abortions are not medically necessary; if there are health concerns with the mother that warrant delivery, a child need not be intentionally killed first. According to Howe’s petition, the same applies for Australia.

The most common abortion procedure committed in the third trimester is an induction procedure. Typically a multi-day procedure, the abortionist usually begins by injecting the preborn baby with either digoxin or potassium chloride, with the goal of stopping the baby’s heart. The abortionist then inserts laminaria (seaweed) sticks into the mother’s cervix to begin the process of dilation; over the next several days, the laminaria expands and is replaced, and if the baby has not yet died, the abortionist may administer more fatal drugs by injection. He may also give the woman drugs to begin the process of inducing labor.

Eventually, the woman will give birth to the body of her deceased baby.

3rd Trimester Late-Term Abortion | Induction Abortion | What Is Abortion?

Howe has reported that the number of these late-term abortions is increasing in Australia, and also claimed that medical staff are being pressured or outright forced to sign off on abortions so that women can receive the payments (:

One is a South Australian hospital administrator who said midwives are “traumatised and shocked” by the rise in late-term abortions of healthy babies. She revealed staff are being effectively “forced to sign off on Centrelink forms” so women can claim payments — a process adding “a double level of trauma” by co-opting them into a system that financially rewards elective abortions.

The second is a midwife who described a traumatic late-term abortion in which the mother stated she would use her aborted baby bonus to fund a holiday to Bali — a remark that left the midwife in tears after delivering the baby stillborn.

The Bottom Line:

The Stillborn Baby Payment is a good policy that has been hijacked by pro-abortion extremists. In no way should a parent who chooses to intentionally kill her child be rewarded monetarily or put in the same category as a parent whose child died due to natural causes.

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