Three women requested abortions due to harsh conditions in detention and the longevity of stay on the Pacific island

Three pregnant asylum seekers have been transferred to Australia from offshore detention on Nauru after requesting abortions due to the harsh conditions inside the detention centre and because they did not want to bring a child up on Nauru, Guardian Australia understands.

Of the three women – the first of whom was transferred in February – one had her pregnancy terminated while the other two have yet to make a final decision on the termination.



The February case – of a Rohingyan woman named Salima – was reported by the ABC. Salima’s partner Mamun told the ABC from Brisbane: “If we born with a child in Nauru the child must die because the facilities [are] not good in there.



"There is a very small room. Families are given a fan. But in a single camp there is no fan. When you take meals – lunch and dinner – you must be standing two hours in the line."



The two most recent cases involve pregnant women transferred to Darwin. One family were sent around three weeks ago and another around eight weeks ago.



Child asylum seeker advocate group Chilout and a senior source with knowledge of the cases confirmed the transfers had occurred.



Chilout spokeswoman Sophie Peer said all three women had cited conditions in detention and the longevity of stay on the tiny Pacific island state as reasons for their decisions.



A leaked report, written by five independent medical experts, documented the dire state of mental health among pregnant women on Nauru. The report said that most pregnant women on the island were suffering depression, with many scoring 24 on the Edinburgh postnatal depression scale, where depression is diagnosed with a score of 10.



Guardian Australia has also been told by a senior source that a 32-year-old woman was evacuated under emergency after a suicide attempt on Nauru last weekend.



“The actions taken by these families indicate just how dire the situation is on Nauru,” said Peer.



“From maternal health through to paediatric care and basic living conditions, the entire facility on Nauru is inappropriate for women and children.



“Our government has stripped these families of all hope and has made family planning decisions almost impossible.”



Immigration minister Scott Morrison did not respond to a request for comment.

