Pregnant women in violent relationships are being further victimised by laws that criminalise abortion in some parts of Australia, doctors and health experts say.

Key points: Under Queensland law, rape, incest and fetal anomaly are not sufficient grounds for an abortion

Under Queensland law, rape, incest and fetal anomaly are not sufficient grounds for an abortion Abortion services say one-third of their work is with abused women

Abortion services say one-third of their work is with abused women Abortion is legal if practitioner believes a women's physical or mental health is in danger

Most Australian states and territories now allow abortions, but have different rules on how late they can be carried out.

In Queensland and New South Wales, women face a series of legal hurdles in accessing abortion services.

Abortion still remains in the Criminal Code Act in Queensland, where it is a crime for a woman to end a pregnancy, and for a medical professional to carry out the procedure.

Under the state's existing law, rape, incest and foetal anomaly are not sufficient grounds for a lawful abortion.

However, abortion is legal if a medical practitioner believes continuing the pregnancy is a threat to a woman's mental or physical health.

While the NSW Crimes Act 1900 also lists abortion as a criminal offence, it allows for a broader interpretation than Queensland laws as to what constitutes unlawful.

But experts warn restricting abortion can force victims of domestic violence to maintain contact with their abusers.

They say such women often find themselves pregnant against their will after being denied contraceptives, being raped, or being coerced into becoming pregnant.

Pregnancy 'used to control' domestic violence victims

A sexual health physician who performs medical abortions in northern Queensland told the ABC she saw pregnancy being used as another method of control by domestic violence perpetrators.

Fearing legal and work-related repercussions, Karen (not her real name) requested anonymity.

"A woman may have a partner who becomes violent and becomes very possessive, and a way of expressing ownership over that woman is forced pregnancy," she said.

"Anti-abortion agents say that doesn't happen — [they say] what happens is they're forced to have an abortion. I don't see that."

Children by Choice, a provider of financial support for abortion services, said about one-third of its work was with abused women.

'I wasn't willing for him to ruin another child's life'

NSW woman Louie (not her real name) sought to have an abortion due to fear of being pulled back into an abusive relationship.

Louie was being physically abused by her partner. Even when she fell pregnant with his child, the assaults on her and her three-year-old son from a previous relationship did not stop.

"He had hit my [three-year-old] son with a fishing rod, he used to smack him in the back of the head open-handed that hard that he would face-plant on the ground. He was extremely abusive and he would call it discipline," she said.

"I left him, I think, six times before I left the last time. My mum helped me leave four or five of those times and he would threaten to burn my mum's house down.

"It was just endless threats and most of those threats had to do with my family or children. And I would end up back there."

A week after what turned out to be her final departure, Louie discovered she was expecting again.

"I wasn't willing or prepared for him coming back into my life and ruin another child's life. So, I chose to have an abortion," she said.

Thinking of women in a situation similar to hers being denied an abortion, Louie says her "heart breaks".

Reasonable grounds a 'very grey area'

Laws across Australia: ACT: abortion was decriminalised in 2002

ACT: abortion was decriminalised in 2002 NSW: abortion is unlawful, but 1971 ruling established abortion would be lawful if doctor believed there was "any economic, social or medical ground or reason" woman could not continue with pregnancy

NSW: abortion is unlawful, but 1971 ruling established abortion would be lawful if doctor believed there was "any economic, social or medical ground or reason" woman could not continue with pregnancy NT: abortion is legal up to 14 weeks if "maternal health ground" or "fetal disability ground" is satisfied

NT: abortion is legal up to 14 weeks if "maternal health ground" or "fetal disability ground" is satisfied SA: abortion is legal up to 28 weeks of conception, provided "maternal health" or "fetal disability" ground is satisfied

SA: abortion is legal up to 28 weeks of conception, provided "maternal health" or "fetal disability" ground is satisfied TAS: abortion is legal up to 16 weeks of pregnancy

TAS: abortion is legal up to 16 weeks of pregnancy QLD: abortion is a crime under the Criminal Code Act unless mother's physical or mental health is affected

QLD: abortion is a crime under the Criminal Code Act unless mother's physical or mental health is affected VIC: abortion is legal up to 24 weeks of pregnancy

VIC: abortion is legal up to 24 weeks of pregnancy WA: abortion is legal up to 20 weeks of pregnancy Source: Parliament of Australia

A termination of pregnancy is lawful in Queensland only if the practitioner believes "on reasonable grounds" an abortion is necessary to "preserve the woman from a serious danger to her life or physical or mental health," Queensland Maternity and Neonatal Clinical Guidelines state.

In NSW, the same grounds apply, although a woman's "economic and social" circumstances are also considered.

Karen said what constituted a reasonable ground for an abortion was "legally a very grey area".

"We're effectively lying to make the case fit the law," she said.

"We have to say it will endanger her mental health to continue this pregnancy. Sometimes that's true, not always.

"Certainly, there are a lot of abortions carried out in Queensland.

"I don't necessarily know why Queensland has to drag the chain."

Abortion law reform 'could save lives'

Most abortions in Australia are carried out in private clinics, attracting an out-of-pocket cost.

In 2015, Queensland Health estimated fewer than 3 per cent of abortions were provided in public health facilities.

Jamal Hakim is the chief operating officer for Marie Stopes International, a private clinic that performs abortions country-wide.

He said decriminalising abortion could save lives.

"Women might not have access to funds because of the relationship, or they might have access to funds but they need to have an abortion discreetly because when their partner finds out then the relationship actually gets more violent," he said.

"That's where it's important for women, so that they don't take this into their own hands."

Children by Choice manager Amanda Bradley said last year she saw about one woman a fortnight who was considering self-termination.

"We have women who either tried, or have asked how to do it. It's very serious," she said.

Karen also said some doctors' conscientious objection, and lack of access in rural areas drove some patients to despair.

'No problem so great a woman should kill her baby'

Queensland Health said about 10,000 abortions were carried out in the state in 2015.

Types of abortion: Medical abortion is a method that uses medication rather than surgery to terminate a pregnancy up to nine weeks' gestation

Medical abortion is a method that uses medication rather than surgery to terminate a pregnancy up to nine weeks' gestation Surgical abortion is a day-surgery procedure that is most commonly performed up to 12-14 weeks' gestation

Surgical abortion is a day-surgery procedure that is most commonly performed up to 12-14 weeks' gestation Tele-abortion is a medical abortion via teleconsultation to terminate a pregnancy up to eight weeks' gestation without having to visit a clinic

The president of pro-life group Right to Life, Margaret Tighe, said she was determined to fight what she described as a "gradual escalation in the killing of unborn children".

"I can understand how women who've been subjected to violence by their husbands or partners, how they would feel. But nonetheless, there is no problem so great that a woman should have to kill her baby," she said.

Liesl Wharton, the director of domestic violence survivors' support group the RED HEART Campaign, said doctors also needed to keep an eye out for instances where they believed a woman was being forced to end a pregnancy.

"We also need to ensure that abortions are not forced upon women, also sterilisation operations are not forced upon women," she said.

A NSW Health spokesperson said: "Access to abortions should be considered in the same way as access to other medical care."

A Queensland Health spokesperson said: "Health providers, including our public hospitals, provide termination of pregnancy in accordance with the law."