Doctors at Newcastle Private Hospital have been told that IVF, abortion, voluntary assisted dying (VAD), gender-affirming care, contraception, vasectomies and tubal ligation would all be off the table within a few weeks as Catholic provider Calvary is poised to take over, raising concerns that the deal's national implications could shrink access to legal healthcare across Australia.
Obstetricians and gynaecologists at the regional New South Wales hospital were informed during a Teams meeting Wednesday before last that the services would be off the table and that they would have to sign a document pledging to practise in line with the Code of Ethical Standards for Catholic Health and Aged Care Services in Australia. The code calls abortion "morally wrong" and says procedures that substitute for the "marital act" are "not morally permissible".
Calvary, a Catholic not-for-profit, is poised to take over 14 private hospitals from Healthscope, effectively doubling its private hospital network. Catholic providers already run about 6 per cent of Australia's public and private hospitals. The competition regulator has already cleared Calvary's takeover of Hobart Private Hospital, where reproductive health, gender-affirming care and VAD were also due to be wound back. The ACCC is still assessing the national expansion on competition grounds, not on whether patients lose access to services.
Calvary has acknowledged the "concerns and uncertainty within the community". Late on Friday, more information was provided on its website. "Where a requested intervention cannot be offered, we remain committed to treating every person with dignity, providing clear information and supporting access to appropriate ongoing care … Where a service is not offered, we will work with the treating specialist to support appropriate pathways."
The Royal Australian and New Zealand College of Obstetricians and Gynaecologists (RANZCOG) said it had no objection to Catholic ownership but argued that the healthcare at issue is legal and should be available in every hospital. "It should not be defined by the faith of the organisation that owns the hospital," President Dr Nisha Khot told the ABC. She warned of scenarios "where the local public hospital and the private hospital are both Catholic", leaving no hospital access for reproductive sexual health care or VAD.
IVF Australia's Dr Veronica Knight called the decision "discrimination based on religious ethos".
The region already offers a preview of what happens when VAD care meets a Catholic operator. The only public hospice sits within a hospital run by Calvary as a public-private partnership. The hospital does not allow VAD drugs to be administered on-site, so patients who choose VAD must be moved to another location. One VAD doctor, who cannot be named because of their contract with NSW Health, said the result could be waits that "blow out by several days". "There have already been cases where patients have been waiting for a couple of hours to transfer to another facility, in the final hours of their lives — sometimes in significant pain," the doctor said.
Dr Khot raised an extreme hypothetical scenario in which a woman at 18 weeks has her waters break at a Calvary hospital, is not told about abortion as an option and does not realise her life is at risk until sepsis sets in. She said she was "genuinely concerned" about it happening.
Federal Labor MP and doctor Mike Freelander asked: "What's the alternative?" He said Catholic hospitals provide quality care, but was concerned the "Catholic ethical system is not keeping up with modern healthcare".
Analysis
Why This Matters
- The Calvary takeover of 14 Healthscope hospitals would double its private hospital network, potentially limiting access to legal healthcare, including IVF, abortion and voluntary assisted dying, across multiple regions of Australia.
- Regional patients already face specialist shortages and long delays; losing these services at private hospitals could push more demand onto already stretched public hospitals, worsening wait times.
- The case raises a broader question of whether a provider's religious ethos should determine what legal care is available in a hospital, when no alternative hospital may offer it nearby.
Background
Catholic hospitals in Australia have long operated under the Code of Ethical Standards for Catholic Health and Aged Care Services, which restricts procedures such as abortion and those that substitute for the marital act. The latest controversy erupted when Calvary, a Catholic not-for-profit founded by the Sisters of the Little Company of Mary, announced it would stop offering a wide range of services at Newcastle Private and Hunter Valley Private hospitals after taking them over from Healthscope. The ACCC cleared a similar takeover of Hobart Private Hospital earlier. The NSW government has so far declined to intervene, saying services will be available elsewhere.
Key Perspectives
Calvary: Acknowledged "concerns and uncertainty" and said where a service is not offered, it will work with the treating specialist to support appropriate pathways and provide clear information.
RANZCOG President Dr Nisha Khot: Argued that legal healthcare should be available in every hospital and not defined by the faith of the owner, and warned about concentration of Catholic ownership leaving no hospital access for reproductive or VAD care.
IVF Australia's Dr Veronica Knight: Called the decision "discrimination based on religious ethos".
Federal Labor MP and doctor Mike Freelander: Asked what alternative exists if Calvary does not take over, noting Catholic hospitals provide quality care but the ethical system is not keeping up with modern healthcare.
What to Watch
- The ACCC's final decision on Calvary's national expansion, which could set a precedent for further consolidation.
- Whether the NSW government or other state governments will impose conditions on hospital licence transfers to require continued access to the services Calvary plans to end.
- How clinicians and patients in Newcastle adapt to workarounds over the coming weeks, and whether delays in VAD care lead to patients losing capacity to consent.
Checked
12 claims in this story checked against 1 source: 12 supported.
Show each claim
- SupportedCalvary’s planned takeover raises fears about access to legal healthcare.Just In: “If the latest Calvary deal clears regulators, that footprint will grow, and so will doctors' fears that access to legal healthcare will shrink.”
- SupportedCalvary’s plan to stop IVF, abortion, VAD and other services at Newcastle Private has alarmed clinicians ahead of a proposed national expansion.Just In: “That is why a Catholic provider's decision to stop offering these services at Newcastle Private hospital in regional New South Wales has alarmed many clinicians and the community. A local issue has exposed the potential for national implications.”
- SupportedAt a Teams meeting Wednesday before last, Newcastle Private obstetricians and gynaecologists were told that IVF, abortion, VAD, gender-affirming care, contraception, vasectomies and tubal ligation would be off the table within a few weeks.Just In: “Most were stunned when they were informed that IVF, abortion, VAD, gender affirming care, contraception, vasectomies and tubal ligation — to prevent fertility — would all be off the table within a few weeks .”
- SupportedCalvary is poised to take over 14 Healthscope private hospitals, effectively doubling its private hospital network.Just In: “Calvary, a Catholic not-for-profit, is poised to take over 14 private hospitals from Healthscope, effectively doubling its private hospital network across the country.”
- SupportedThe doctors were told to sign a document pledging to follow the Catholic health code, which calls abortion “morally wrong” and procedures substituting for the “marital act” “not morally permissible”.Just In: “They would also have to sign a document pledging to practise in line with the Code of Ethical Standards for Catholic Health and Aged Care Services in Australia. The code calls abortion "morally wrong" and says procedures that substitute for the "marital act" are "not morally permissible".”
- SupportedCalvary’s website said it would provide information and support pathways when it could not offer a requested service.Just In: “Where a requested intervention cannot be offered, we remain committed to treating every person with dignity, providing clear information and supporting access to appropriate ongoing care … Where a service is not offered, we will work with the treating specialist to support appropriate pathways.”
- SupportedRANZCOG president Dr Nisha Khot said legal healthcare should be available in every hospital and “should not be defined by the faith of the organisation that owns the hospital”.Just In: “"What we're saying is that the law of the land says that all this health care is legal, and it should be available in every hospital. It should not be defined by the faith of the organisation that owns the hospital."”
- SupportedIVF Australia’s Dr Veronica Knight called Calvary’s decision “discrimination based on religious ethos”.Just In: “IVF Australia's Dr Veronica Knight calls Calvary's latest decision, "discrimination based on religious ethos".”
- SupportedA VAD doctor said waits could “blow out by several days” and described patients waiting hours to transfer, sometimes in significant pain.Just In: “One VAD doctor, who cannot be named because of their contract with NSW Health, says the result could be waits that "blow out by several days". "There have already been cases where patients have been waiting for a couple of hours to transfer to another facility, in the final hours of their lives — sometimes in significant pain," the doctor said.”
- SupportedDr Khot raised a hypothetical scenario involving a woman at 18 weeks whose waters break at a Calvary hospital, who is not told about abortion and does not realise her life is at risk until sepsis sets in; she said she was “genuinely concerned” it could happen.Just In: “"She's 18 weeks at a Calvary hospital, isn't told about abortion as an option and doesn't realise her life is at risk until sepsis sets in," she said. This is hypothetical, but she says she's "genuinely concerned" about it happening.”
- SupportedThe region’s only public hospice is within a hospital run by Calvary, where VAD drugs cannot be administered on-site and patients who choose VAD must be moved elsewhere.Just In: “The region's only public hospice sits within a hospital already run by Calvary as a public-private partnership. The hospital does not allow patients to have VAD drugs administered on-site, so patients who choose VAD must be moved to another bed — in another location — to die on their own terms.”
- SupportedThe ACCC is still assessing Calvary’s national expansion on competition grounds, not whether patients lose access to services.Just In: “The ACCC is still assessing Calvary's national expansion, but its test is whether the deal would substantially lessen competition, not whether patients lose access to services.”
