In a post shared to her social media account in late February, Howe claimed the “evil” Greens bill would see faith-based hospitals shut their doors unless they performed abortions. In a later post, Howe claimed the bill would “kick off a religious persecution in this country”.

According to the Law Society of South Australia’s Register of Practising Certificates, Howe does not hold a practising certificate.

Greens MLC Dr Amanda Cohn, who introduced the bill, said the bill would not force faith-based hospitals to provide abortion, “nor does it provide any mechanisms for hospitals to be closed”.

AAP FactCheck, an accredited member of the International Fact-Checking Network with Poynter, spoke to experts and concluded the bill would not force these hospitals to close if abortion services were refused.

In a statement shared online, Howe said schedule 1[2](a) of the bill would create an obligation on the Minister for Health to ensure abortion services are provided within a reasonable distance of a resident’s home, and the minister may give directions that a hospital must comply with.

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“This section gives the power to the Minister for Health to direct Catholic hospitals to perform abortions,” Howe said.

“This procedure is antithetical to a Catholic worldview which is opposed to the intentional killing of innocent human beings. Catholic hospitals would be forced to close rather than participate in this barbarity.”

Sydney Law School lecturer Christopher Rudge told AAP FactCheck that private Christian and Catholic hospitals in NSW would not be captured under the bill because it applied only to public health organisations defined as local health districts, statutory health corporations or affiliated health organisations under the Health Services Act.

For faith-based hospitals in the public system, Rudge said they were located in metropolitan areas close to public hospitals that could provide abortions, making it unnecessary for the Minister for Health “to direct these extremely few Christian hospitals … to do anything”.

Alongside a flyer of a rally, posted on social media earlier this week, Howe told her 42,900 followers to “spread the word” and said the only way to stop the bill “is through a massive showing of people power”.

Cohn said Howe’s “deliberate” spreading of misinformation has caused “considerable stress” and “stoked fear and division”.

“I look forward to debate continuing in Parliament in the coming weeks based on what the bill actually proposes in line with community expectations to address the situation on the ground in NSW where only three of 220 public hospitals are consistently and openly providing abortion services,” Cohn added.

Referring to the concerns relating to closure of faith-based hospitals, a briefing document into the bill clarified that the transfer of recognised establishments or affiliated health organisations, under section 64 of the Health Services Act 1997, “cannot be made unless the affiliated health organisation consents to the transfer”.

The bill would also alter, but not remove, the right of a registered health practitioner to conscientiously object to performing an abortion.

The health practitioner would be required to either transfer the person’s care to a non-objecting practitioner or health service, or give the person information about how to make contact themselves.