“The minister has been advised that demand for termination services in Dubbo has not been high,” a spokesperson for Ms Tebbutt said.

“The area health service can refer women to specialist referral services in Sydney and other locations, including Canberra, Tamworth and Narrabri.”

Ms Tebbutt, who is also the health minister, declined to explain how demand for the

service was calculated, but Greater Western said it was based on referrals from its women’s health service and Dubbo GPs. Greater Western would not release the number of referrals citing privacy concerns.

Abortion statistics are often unreliable and Dr Caroline de Costa believes calculating demand for the procedure could be equally problematic, especially if the service is not available in the area.

In 2005 an article from the Medical Journal of Australia stated there was “no data currently available for deriving accurate numbers of induced abortions in Australia.”

Dr de Costa is a professor of Obstetrics and Gynaecology and Director of the Clinical School at James Cook University School of Medicine.

“I imagine demand (in Dubbo) would not be immediately obvious because women would be going to Sydney or continuing on with an unwanted pregnancy,” Dr Costa said.

Dr de Costa said one in three Australian women were expected to have an abortion and aired concerns to the Daily Liberal lack of access, which she said was marked in rural areas, may lead to people buying abortion inducing drugs over the internet.

“I am absolutely sure they are,” she said. “It is not recommended that you would buy medication from the internet, particularly for abortions, but I am sure people are doing it.”