<div class="block-content"><div class="styles__Container-sc-1ylecsg-0 goULFa"><strong><span>Exclusive:</span></strong><span> The </span><a href="https://www.9news.com.au/cost-of-living" rel="" target="_blank" title="cost-of-living crisis"><span>cost-of-living crisis</span></a><span> is hitting Australians so hard many are having to delay their dreams of becoming a parent, and in some cases even having to make the heartbreaking decision to terminate a pregnancy.</span></div></div><div class="block-content"><div class="styles__Container-sc-1ylecsg-0 goULFa"><span>The government says they are trying to make parenthood more affordable through childcare subsidies and better paid parental leave.</span></div></div><div class="block-content"><div class="styles__Container-sc-1ylecsg-0 goULFa"><span>But for Australians like Alkira Barber, 24, it's just not enough.</span></div></div><div><div id="adspot-mobile-medium"></div></div><div class="block-content"><div class="styles__Container-sc-1ylecsg-0 goULFa"><strong><span>EXCLUSIVE:</span></strong><span> </span><a href="https://www.9news.com.au/national/not-so-grey-nomads-south-australian-couple-allan-mercer-jess-smith-ditched-mortgage-and-rentals-for-life-on-the-road/c46712f9-d91b-4600-80ae-621757bfed51" target="_blank"><strong><span>The extraordinary lengths young Aussies are going to after being forced out of home ownership</span></strong></a></div></div><div class="block-content"><div class="styles__Container-sc-1ylecsg-0 goULFa"><span>Barber fell pregnant unexpectedly in 2024.</span></div></div><div class="block-content"><div class="styles__Container-sc-1ylecsg-0 goULFa"><span>She had a well-paid job but still couldn't afford to give a child the life she wanted for them.</span></div></div><div class="block-content"><div class="styles__Container-sc-1ylecsg-0 goULFa"><span>"More than half my net pay goes to general living costs," she told nine.com.au.</span></div></div><div><div class="OUTBRAIN" data-reactroot="" data-src="//www.9news.com.au/national/abortions-terminations-due-to-cost-of-living-australian-birth-rate/58e60e95-0193-4a1c-b9fb-64d91a25ed11" data-widget-id="AR_5"></div></div><div class="block-content"><div class="styles__Container-sc-1ylecsg-0 goULFa"><span>"Australians aren't choosing careers over children, they're choosing financial survival."</span></div></div><div class="block-content"><div class="styles__Container-sc-1ylecsg-0 goULFa"><em><strong><span>Have you got a story? Contact</span></strong></em><span> </span><strong><em><span>reporter Maddison Leach at</span></em></strong><span> </span><a href="mailto:mleach@nine.com.au" target="_blank" title="mleach@nine.com.au"><strong><em><span>mleach@nine.com.au</span></em></strong></a></div></div><div class="block-content"><div class="styles__Container-sc-1ylecsg-0 goULFa"><span>At just 24, Barber already feels like she's falling behind.</span></div></div><div class="block-content"><div class="styles__Container-sc-1ylecsg-0 goULFa"><span>She's been priced out of home ownership, rent keeps increasing, wages are stagnant, income tax is high, and groceries have nearly doubled in cost in the last 25 years.</span></div></div><div class="block-content"><div class="styles__Container-sc-1ylecsg-0 goULFa"><span>Energy, transport, and utilities are all rising and childcare can be unaffordable even with subsidies.</span></div></div><div class="block-content"><div class="styles__Container-sc-1ylecsg-0 goULFa"><span>With all that in mind, Barber made the difficult decision to terminate the pregnancy.</span></div></div><div class="block-content"><div class="styles__Container-sc-1ylecsg-0 goULFa"><span>She still wants to be a mum one day but feels like that dream is only drifting further out of reach.</span></div></div><div class="block-content"><div class="styles__Container-sc-1ylecsg-0 goULFa"><span>"Until Australia addresses housing affordability, income stagnation, tax bracket creep, and genuine economic security, birth rates will continue to fall," Barber said.</span></div></div><div class="block-content"><div class="styles__Container-sc-1ylecsg-0 goULFa"><span>"For many individuals and couples, bringing a child into this environment feels financially and ethically irresponsible."</span></div></div><div class="block-content"><div class="styles__Container-sc-1ylecsg-0 goULFa"><span>Abortion is legal across Australia but abortion data is hard to track, as most states don't routinely report data and national data is rarely published.</span></div></div><div class="block-content"><div class="styles__Container-sc-1ylecsg-0 goULFa"><span>It's even harder to access data on the reasons why Australians decide to undergo abortions.</span></div></div><div class="block-content"><div class="styles__Container-sc-1ylecsg-0 goULFa"><span>But stories like Barber's may not be that uncommon.</span></div></div><div class="block-content"><div class="styles__Container-sc-1ylecsg-0 goULFa"><span>Beatrice* and her partner want a baby but had to terminate a pregnancy recently because they just couldn't afford a child.</span></div></div><div class="block-content"><div class="styles__Container-sc-1ylecsg-0 goULFa"><span>"Even though we are relatively comfortable with our incomes, we realised that having a baby and subsequently raising a child would have forced us back into poverty on an extreme scale," Beatrice told nine.com.au.</span></div></div><div class="block-content"><div class="styles__Container-sc-1ylecsg-0 goULFa"><span>They had to pay $650 to terminate the pregnancy, but some women can't even afford that.</span></div></div><div class="block-content"><div class="styles__Container-sc-1ylecsg-0 goULFa"><span>Beatrice and her partner still want to be parents, they won't be able to afford a child unless they both get substantial pay rises.</span></div></div><div class="block-content"><div class="styles__Container-sc-1ylecsg-0 goULFa"><span>Even then, there's no guarantee their wages will keep up with inflation.</span></div></div><div class="block-content"><div class="styles__Container-sc-1ylecsg-0 goULFa"><strong><span>READ MORE:</span></strong><span> </span><a href="https://www.9news.com.au/national/man-sought-as-police-investigate-fire-in-perth-bushland/4f4f01f2-59c4-4cef-9ccf-479a3b0b09e0" target="_blank"><strong><span>Man sought as police investigate fire in Perth bushland</span></strong></a></div></div><div class="player__video-container"><img alt="" src="https://imageresizer.static9.net.au/s8TR3mx3b0TMWIJpKda2QCniSUo=/750x0/https%3A%2F%2Fvms-network-images-prod.s3-ap-southeast-2.amazonaws.com%2F2026%2F01%2F749797%2Fpickerimage.jpg"/></div><div class="block-content"><div class="styles__Container-sc-1ylecsg-0 goULFa"><span>Christine*, 32, and her partner say they seem to fall backwards financially every year despite his high income.</span></div></div><div class="block-content"><div class="styles__Container-sc-1ylecsg-0 goULFa"><span>They had their first child in 2020 and want a second but already struggle to cover the rent on a three bedroom unit in Sydney.</span></div></div><div class="block-content"><div class="styles__Container-sc-1ylecsg-0 goULFa"><span>Buying a home is out of the question with the national median house now sitting at $1.28 million, especially while Christine's at home with their youngest.</span></div></div><div class="block-content"><div class="styles__Container-sc-1ylecsg-0 goULFa"><span>And when she returns to work, day care costs will eat up any extra earnings that could've gone towards a house deposit.</span></div></div><div class="block-content"><div class="styles__Container-sc-1ylecsg-0 goULFa"><span>On top of it all, groceries that used to cost the family $250 per week now set them back $600 per week.</span></div></div><div class="block-content"><div class="styles__Container-sc-1ylecsg-0 goULFa"><span>"No matter how much we do, how much we sacrifice, the groceries keep getting more expensive," Christine told nine.com.au.</span></div></div><div class="block-content"><div class="styles__Container-sc-1ylecsg-0 goULFa"><span>So when she fell pregnant unexpectedly two years ago, they had to terminate.</span></div></div><div class="block-content"><div class="styles__Container-sc-1ylecsg-0 goULFa"><span>Christine was devastated.</span></div></div><div class="block-content"><div class="styles__Container-sc-1ylecsg-0 goULFa"><span>She lost 15 kilos was bedridden for months but couldn't afford extra appointments with her regular therapist, who charges $500 per visit.</span></div></div><div class="block-content"><div class="styles__Container-sc-1ylecsg-0 goULFa"><span>A mental health plan gave her access to subsidised support but waitlists were up to six months long.</span></div></div><div class="block-content"><div class="styles__Container-sc-1ylecsg-0 goULFa"><span>And even now, Christine and her partner are no closer to being able to afford the second child they desperately want.</span></div></div><div class="block-content"><div class="styles__Container-sc-1ylecsg-0 goULFa"><span>"We work adults to the bone, tax them at the highest rates, make them pay the most for food, education and electricity, take away their ability to own a home and invest in their own futures, and then wonder why they can't or won't have children."</span></div></div><div class="block-content"><div class="styles__Container-sc-1ylecsg-0 goULFa"><strong><span>READ MORE:</span></strong><span> </span><a href="https://www.9news.com.au/finance/interest-rates-more-than-one-in-three-mortgage-holders-struggling-with-repayments/a130f045-2ded-4ff2-898b-3eeba1f92a65" target="_blank"><strong><span>More than a million homeowners struggle with mortgage repayments</span></strong></a></div></div><div class="block-content"><div class="styles__Container-sc-1ylecsg-0 goULFa"><span>Australia's birth rate is plummeting and is unlikely to recover while the cost of living is holding Aussies back from having kids.</span></div></div><div class="block-content"><div class="styles__Container-sc-1ylecsg-0 goULFa"><span>That's dire news when the nation's total fertility rate (TFR) is set to hit an </span><a href="https://www.9news.com.au/national/australia-fertility-rate-to-hit-record-low-2026/3d7a5a43-61bf-4fb0-9c95-bfe731d965a0" rel="" target="_blank" title="all-time low of 1.42 births"><span>all-time low of 1.42 births</span></a><span> per adult woman this year.</span></div></div><div class="block-content"><div class="styles__Container-sc-1ylecsg-0 goULFa"><span>Australia's birth rate has also been below the replacement level (the rate needed to keep the population size stable) of 2.1 children per adult woman for almost 50 years now.</span></div></div><div class="block-content"><div class="styles__Container-sc-1ylecsg-0 goULFa"><em><span>*Names changed.</span></em></div></div><div class="block-content"><div class="styles__Container-sc-1ylecsg-0 goULFa"><strong><em><span>NEVER MISS A STORY:</span></em></strong><span> </span><em><span>Get your breaking news and exclusive stories first by following us across all platforms.</span></em></div></div><div class="block-content"><div class="styles__Container-sc-1ylecsg-0 goULFa"><ul><li><strong><em><span>Download the 9NEWS App here via</span></em></strong><span> </span><a href="https://apps.apple.com/au/app/9news/id1010533727" target="_blank"><strong><em><span>Apple</span></em></strong></a><span> 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