The use of an ultrasound machine at the Women's Life Centre won't discourage more women from having abortions, a leading Border gynaecologist has said.
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Wodonga specialist Dr John Salmon has also warned there were “many traps” for inexperienced or untrained ultrasound operators when it came to reading and correctly interpreting scans.
Concerns have been raised about the motivation for using an ultrasound at the centre, which offers “hope, help and healing for women facing unplanned pregnancy”.
The centre and adjacent Esencia cafe have been accused of being a front for anti-abortion protesters Helpers of God’s Precious Infants, a claim which has been denied.
Long-standing obstetrician and gynaecologist Dr Pieter Mourik has slammed the centre for offering an ultrasound to women in crisis as “vile manipulation”.
“This is another way of coercing women to continue an unwanted pregnancy by increasing her emotional distress,” he stated.
Dr Mourik also said the medical community was concerned about the credentials of women performing the scans.
In a Border Mail article on November 26, Esencia manager Jolleen Suter said the free ultrasound was used for “non-diagnostic” purposes.
“Women who come in have the chance to connect with their unborn babies … they can listen to their baby’s heartbeat between coffee and cake,” she stated.
Ms Suter, a registered nurse, has since confirmed she has completed a two-day ‘Introduction to Ultrasound in Obstetrics’ course run by the Australian Institute of Ultrasound.
Dr Salmon said that although an ultrasound was relatively safe, there were other concerns to consider.
These include the fact one in six pregnancies result in miscarriage, the lack of fetal movement in an otherwise healthy pregnancy, the inability to see the pregnancy because the uterus is retroverted and other medical issues best interpreted by a skilled and certified operator.
Dr Salmon also pointed out the quality of the information available was directly affected by the quality of the ultrasound machine.
However, he said if the purpose was to deter a woman from terminating a pregnancy, he would be “astonished” if that worked.
“My gut feeling is that viewing an image of the pregnancy is the last thing they would want to do,” Dr Salmon said.