Celebrating leadership, lived experience, and the ongoing fight for reproductive rights.
The 2024 Reproductive Rights Conference, hosted by Children by Choice, brought together healthcare professionals, advocates, researchers, and community leaders from across Australia to explore the evolving landscape of reproductive justice.
Across two days of keynotes, panels, and storytelling, delegates shared insights on the intersection of healthcare, policy, and lived experience , from access to abortion and contraception, to pregnancy loss, reproductive autonomy, and the importance of inclusive, person-centred care.
The conference created space for powerful conversations, practical collaboration, and renewed commitment to advancing reproductive choice and equity for all.
Dr Carol Portmann
Maternal Fetal Medicine Specialist & Obstetrician
Isabelle Oderberg
Journalist & Author of ‘Hard to Bear’
Natasha Chong
Senior Health Worker, Cultural Safety Project
Natasha is passionate about supporting and inspiring women of all ages to become empowered to take their stance of ownership for their health and well-being by providing my support doing their journey.
Exploring pregnancy options within Indigenous culture and communities
What happens when a nurse asks if there is such a thing as culturally safe abortion care?
What happens when a female and male Aboriginal health worker commit to finding out?
Natasha, Morgan and Erin share their experiences of travelling to remote Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander communities to open up long overdue conversations on pregnancy options.
Their story began at the 2022 Children by Choice conference. Two years later, through courageous conversation and consultation, culturally safe care is taking shape. It involves women, men and all streams of healthcare providers. The teams’ journey with this work is raw and real and gaining attention from across the country.
Morgan Dempsey
Indigenous Health Worker Coordinator
Morgan is a Senior Indigenous Health Worker with a coordination role at Cairns Sexual Health Service. He has been in this role for the last 30 years and enjoys working in sexual health because he gets to support our Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander clients, especially our male clients, in accessing services and also give our non-indigenous staff a better understanding of Indigenous culture.
Exploring pregnancy options within Indigenous culture and communities
What happens when a nurse asks if there is such a thing as culturally safe abortion care?
What happens when a female and male Aboriginal health worker commit to finding out?
Natasha, Morgan and Erin share their experiences of travelling to remote Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander communities to open up long overdue conversations on pregnancy options.
Their story began at the 2022 Children by Choice conference. Two years later, through courageous conversation and consultation, culturally safe care is taking shape. It involves women, men and all streams of healthcare providers. The teams’ journey with this work is raw and real and gaining attention from across the country.
Erin McBride
Sexual Health Coordinator
Erin lives and works in beautiful Gimuy, Cairns. She combines 15 years of nursing experience with a Masters in Sexual and Reproductive/Public Health to improve rural and remote abortion access and workforce sustainability. Erin coordinates two Clinical Excellence Queensland projects: Pregnancy Options and Culture and the Queensland Termination of Pregnancy (ToP) Community of Practice. She is also co-chair of the Queensland ToP working group.
Exploring pregnancy options within Indigenous culture and communities
What happens when a nurse asks if there is such a thing as culturally safe abortion care?
What happens when a female and male Aboriginal health worker commit to finding out?
Natasha, Morgan and Erin share their experiences of travelling to remote Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander communities to open up long overdue conversations on pregnancy options.
Their story began at the 2022 Children by Choice conference. Two years later, through courageous conversation and consultation, culturally safe care is taking shape. It involves women, men and all streams of healthcare providers. The teams’ journey with this work is raw and real and gaining attention from across the country.
Alyce Nelligan
Disability Advocate, Political Activist, Artist and Model
Alyce Nelligan is a disability advocate, political activist, and proud disabled woman. She partners with many community organisations including being part of the Y Connect Advisory Committee for the YWCA. She is also a brand ambassador for the Australian fashion boutique Little Party Dress and Colour My Wheels who manufacture wheel covers.
She can be found @princessspeedy on Instagram. She also has a successful political career, including running on the Greens Senate ticket in the last federal election. Alyce is also a mother to three young children and has also run educational, inclusion and arts workshops for over a decade.
Barbara Baird
Associate Professor, Activist, Author of Abortion Care is Healthcare
Barbara Baird lives on Kaurna country and recognises the unceded sovereignty of Kaurna people. She works in Women’s and Gender Studies at Flinders University. Her research concerns the histories and politics of sexuality and reproduction in C20th and C21st Australia, with a particular focus on abortion, and with attention to the ways in which these histories intersect with the politics of race and nation. Her book Abortion Care is Health Care (Melbourne University Publishing) came out in 2023 and Personal Politics: Sexuality, Gender and Remaking of Citizenship in Australia (Monash University Publishing), co-authored with historians Michelle Arrow, Leigh Boucher and Robert Reynolds, comes out in June 2024. She has been Co-Convenor of the South Australian Abortion Action Coalition (saaac) since 2017, the activist group which lead the campaign for the decriminalisation of abortion in SA and continues to campaign for better access to abortion care. Barbara became a Member of the Order of Australia (AM) in the 2024 Australia Day Honours List for her service to abortion activism, as did her saaac Co-Convenor Brigid Coombe.
Madison Griffiths
Author of Tissue
Madison Griffiths is an author, artist and producer. Her debut book Tissue, published by Ultimo Press in 2023, is a boldly poetic meditation on abortion and what it has the power to represent. She is the co-producer of Tender, a podcast that tracks the journey of individuals as they decide to leave an abusive relationship. In 2022, she was awarded the Walkley Foundation Our Watch Award for Excellence in Reporting on Violence Against Women, alongside co-producer, Beth Atkinson-Quinton. Her work largely centres around the lived experiences of women, especially those whose realities are shrouded in stigma, opposition and rebellion.
We extend our heartfelt thanks to the sponsors and partners who made the 2024 Reproductive Rights Conference possible.
Your generous support helped us bring together advocates, healthcare professionals and community leaders to share knowledge, spark conversation and strengthen our collective commitment to reproductive choice and justice.
Together, we are building a future where everyone has the right to make informed decisions about their own bodies and lives.
2024 Sponsors
Register your interest today
September 3 - 5 2026, Brisbane QLD
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