Opinion: Why we should and shouldn’t change abortion laws

THE controversial Bill to decriminalise abortion in Queensland has finally been introduced after years of public debate. Here are the pros and cons.

THE controversial Bill to decriminalise abortion in Queensland has finally been introduced after years of public debate.

Attorney-General Yvette D’Ath yesterday introduced the Government’s Bill as members of both the pro-life and pro-choice groups watched on from the public gallery.

Ms D’Ath said the Bill provided certainty for women, health professionals and the community.

But the saga is far from over, as it will now be referred to a parliamentary committee before coming back to the House for debate in the October sittings.

The Bill will allow for women to procure an abortion on request up to 22 weeks gestation.

They will need the support of their doctor — in consultation with another medical professional — to procure one after 22 weeks gestation unless in an emergency under the changes.

Doctors will be able to conscientiously object so long as they refer their patient to another medical professional who is not also a conscientious objector.

It will also legislate safe access zones around clinics were abortions are performed.

Pro-life advocates say women are even more opposed to the new laws than voters overall.

Majority don’t want legal terminations

THE Labor Government’s Termination of Pregnancy Bill is extreme and unnecessary legislation. It is an abortion-to-birth Bill, which at no point considers the rights or the personhood of the unborn.

This brutal Bill is almost identical to Victoria’s abortion law, which is one of the most extreme in the Western world. This radical law would legalise abortion on request, no questions asked, to 22 weeks gestation, for any reason.

New polling by YouGov Galaxy of 1000 Queenslanders, conducted from August 6 to 8 for Cherish Life Queensland and the Australian Family Association, showed that 52 per cent of voters are opposed to this provision in the Bill, with 29 per cent in favour.

And women are even more opposed, with 57 per cent against and 26 per cent in favour.

This extreme legislation also will allow abortion after 22 weeks of pregnancy with the approval of two doctors who can base their decision on a woman’s “social circumstances”, such as economic disadvantage and relationship breakdown.

Over the past decade, almost half of the late-term abortions in Victoria, which has a similar so-called “limit”, have been performed on “psycho-social” grounds.

The 22-week gestational “limit” is a farce, as this heinous Bill will legalise the killing of healthy, viable, late-term babies for social reasons.

When asked in the YouGov Galaxy poll, up to what stage of pregnancy would you allow abortion, only 6 per cent of Queenslanders said after 23 weeks. Just 3 per cent of women support abortion up to birth, compared with 10 per cent of men.

Also, the price of supporting this decriminalisation Bill is that abortion will be legal for sex selection at any stage of pregnancy. The inconvenient truth is that abortion for any reason means legalising the killing of unborn baby girls, just because they are female.

Only 8 per cent of Queenslanders, including 5 per cent of women, support sex-selection abortions, with 83 per cent opposed.

The Bill is completely unnecessary, as abortion already is highly accessible in Queensland under the current law, with about 14,000 terminations a year.

And it is anti-woman, as it contains no protections against abortion coercion, such as independent counselling, informed consent requirements and a cooling-off period.

The YouGov Galaxy poll also contained a warning for MPs who would vote for this Bill: 39 per cent of voters said they would be less likely to vote for their MP if he or she supported this Bill, compared to 15 per cent who would be more likely to vote for the pro-abortion MP, indicating a potential average swing of 13 per cent.

— Teeshan Johnson, executive director of Cherish Life Queensland

Abortion laws are about empowering women and giving them choice, say supporters.

Give women the choice to escape violence

YESTERDAY the Bill to reform Queensland’s 19th century abortion laws was tabled in Parliament. It has been a long road.

In 2016, MP Rob Pyne tabled two private members’ bills on abortion reform. He withdrew them on the Government’s promise of the QLRC review.

With the QLRC report and the new Bill, law reform is in sight. Parliament needs to come together across party lines to carry it forward.

The Pyne legislation was withdrawn in part because the LNP intended to oppose it as a block. Yet, some of those MPs have indicated they are in favour of Queensland women having safe and equitable access to abortion services. This is an issue about the reproductive health of women. It needs bipartisan support, as in Victoria and Tasmania when those states decriminalised abortion.

A Queensland parliamentary committee reported that about 60 per cent of Australians support women being able to obtain an abortion readily, and another 33 per cent support access to abortion in certain circumstances. Members representing women in regional electorates should consider the tyranny of distance to access services that should be easily available.

Almost all abortions take place at less than 20 weeks of pregnancy. Fears have been expressed that late abortions will increase in number following decriminalisation.

In Queensland, abortions after 20 weeks make up about 1 per cent of the total. They take place in just one Brisbane hospital, where experienced doctors care for women who have made the difficult decision to terminate for medical reasons. This will not change following decriminalisation; abortion will continue to be regulated.

As a society, we are committed to ending domestic violence. We know that reproductive coercion is an important aspect of domestic violence. Reproductive coercion includes forced pregnancy and contraceptive sabotage and interference.

Criminalised abortion contributes to the difficulties women have in leaving domestic violence, and maintains the stigma around abortion in the medical profession and in society.

About 25 per cent of pregnancies are terminated in Queensland annually, yet women are reluctant to talk about it. The current law was introduced in 1899 before antibiotics and when surgery and anaesthesia were risky.

It’s now the 21st century. Women expect control over reproduction and to make their own decisions about pregnancy and childbirth.

We urge Parliament to pass the legislation.

— Caroline de Costa, professor of obstetrics and gynaecology at James Cook University & Heather Douglas, professor of criminal law at University of Queensland