When Zoe Eaton fell pregnant during high school, she knew she wanted an abortion, but getting one didn't come without hurdles.

"I didn't expect that I was going to be pregnant at 17. It was not something I wanted for myself," Ms Eaton said.

"To me, my future looked pretty bleak if I had to go through with that pregnancy."

Nowhere in her hometown of Mackay in north Queensland offered surgical abortion services, so she was forced to travel hundreds of kilometres to the nearest clinic.

"Townsville or Rockhampton — both of them were about four or five hours' drive away," she said.

"I don't think we would've been able to afford to go to Brisbane or somewhere larger."

That was in 2007 but Ms Eaton's experience remains common for women in regional areas and accessing an abortion service is about to become even tougher.

Major abortion provider shuts down

Leading national abortion provider Marie Stopes closed its Townsville, Rockhampton, Southport, and Newcastle clinics this month, citing financial pressures.

The clinics employed more than 40 people and saw about 5,000 patients annually, although not all who come were seeking an abortion.

The organisation's managing director Jamal Hakim said shutting up shop was "a really difficult decision" but he pledged it would support women through other pathways.

"The stigma as well means it's difficult to continue to find a workforce.

"Through the COVID period, we can't move people around in the regions, which makes it even more difficult."

Last year, Marie Stopes had to charter flights so its clinics could reach patients in Rockhampton and Townsville during the pandemic.

Mr Hakim said the organisation would now focus on expanding its telehealth medical abortion offerings, but he said it was "inevitable" regional women would miss out on services in the short term.

Ms Eaton said it was a shocking result for women who would now have to travel even further for an abortion.

"It's actually quite scary, especially for someone on a lower income," she said.

Advocates fear health divide

Queensland non-profit organisation Children by Choice offers counselling and referrals for unplanned pregnancies.

Chief executive Daile Kelleher said the majority of the organisation's clients came from regional areas.

"With the closure of three regional clinics in Queensland, we've gone from having eight private abortion clinics to having five … most of those now in the south-east corner," she said.

"We know that creates huge barriers for people who are expected to come to Brisbane, to travel hundreds of kilometres to access what really is quite simple health care."

Royal Australian and New Zealand College of Obstetricians and Gynaecologists president-elect Benjamin Bopp said the closure of the Marie Stopes clinics was a "retrograde step" for women.

"Essentially, anywhere outside of Brisbane is going to suffer significant reduction in service availability," Dr Bopp said.

Dr Bopp and Ms Kelleher fear there will be a disproportionate burden on domestic violence victims, Indigenous women, women who speak a language other than English and those from lower socio-economic backgrounds.

Push for public hospital services

Medical abortions are the most common option for women in the first nine weeks of pregnancy.

It involves taking a pill prescribed by a GP, or through a telehealth service — which Marie Stopes said had surged in demand during the pandemic.

Beyond nine weeks, a woman requires surgical termination which is mostly performed in private clinics.

Abortion was decriminalised in Queensland in 2018, and Ms Kelleher said it was time for the procedure to be made readily accessible across the state through the public sector.

"We believe that access to compassionate abortion care shouldn't have anything to do with your postcode," she said.

"Like any other health procedure, you should be able to get a publicly funded abortion through your hospital service."

Mr Hakim said Marie Stopes would work with local health services to ensure there were avenues available for regional women disadvantaged by the closure of its clinics.

"[We are] looking at things like subsidised travel by government, for those who are eligible, to make sure that they can travel to Brisbane or Sydney," he said.

"We want to ensure that every single region, every single remote area and city in Australia, has access to sexual reproductive health services."