In a subsequent statement, White Ribbon said it "maintains the current position on women's reproductive rights".

The organisation said it will undergo an immediate and comprehensive consultation with its stakeholders, the result of which will be communicated.

"Whilst the intention had been to remedy the process under the original statement of support, this has been viewed as a change in stance around reproductive rights," the statement on Friday said.



"We apologise for the confusion and we look forward to working with our stakeholders on this important issue."

Brisbane-based all-options counselling service Children by Choice was emailed by a White Ribbon Australia staff member the morning after the Queensland vote passed.

The staff member congratulated the service on the historic win and requested a phone call to talk more about the decision to retract White Ribbon’s reproductive rights statement before it became “common knowledge”.



Children by Choice’s manager Daile Kelleher told BuzzFeed News that “by retracting their position statement supporting women living with sexual violence and reproductive coercion” White Ribbon Australia had “turned its back on vulnerable women”.

“We are shocked that during such a historic week in Queensland for women’s reproductive rights after the decriminalisation of abortion, that White Ribbon would turn their back on women experiencing reproductive coercion,” Kelleher said.

“Reproductive coercion includes tampering with contraception to force a partner into pregnancy, as well as coercion into terminating a pregnancy.”



Children by Choice assisted White Ribbon in drafting the statement that has been withdrawn.

“Of the almost 1,700 clients we speak to in our pregnancy counselling service each year, 35% are experiencing domestic violence and 15% are experiencing reproductive coercion – with 74% of these women being coerced into pregnancy, 26% to abortion,” Kelleher said.



“For White Ribbon Australia to completely ignore this reality of women living with violence and control is deeply upsetting.”

McLeod Howe told BuzzFeed News the decision had been coming for at least two weeks when “senior management” were “fielding calls from so many places”.



“I’ve been in my job for probably eight weeks and [White Ribbon Australia’s reproductive rights statement has] come up again and again around Australia,” she said.

Multiple Christian parishes condemned the statement late last year, but McLeod Howe insisted the organisation hadn’t “buckled to Catholics” and that there were people from all facets of the community who didn’t agree with the statement.

“Some people were furious because they are pro-life and some were furious because they haven’t been consulted and [the statement] hadn’t been relayed, so they are signing up as an ambassador and then you’re also an advocate of this political position,” she said.

McLeod Howe said one volunteer told her the organisation should have “followed a consultation process” before releasing a statement on reproductive rights.

“He said, ‘I’m pro-life, but if I’d been outnumbered on all of this I would have just gone well [a pro-life stance] is not what this movement thinks, but I was never given the opportunity’,” she said.

McLeod Howe was surprised the statement was still available on White Ribbon’s website as of Thursday night.