Opinion: Drag abortion laws out of 19th century

ABORTION in the 21st century needs to be seen for what it is: a normal medical procedure that 15,000 Queensland women will undergo each year.

Member for Cairns Rob Pyne introduced the two recent Bills to decriminalise abortion and establish a regulatory framework in Queensland. Picture: Claudia Baxter

ABORTION in the 21st century needs to be seen for what it is: a normal medical procedure that 15,000 Queensland women will undergo each year.

If you are a middle-class woman living in southeast Queensland, access to abortion is not a problem, although it is likely to cost you some hundreds of dollars.

But if you are poor, young or live outside major cities you might find it very difficult to access an abortion even for major medical reasons, because it’s still unlawful in Queensland and many public hospitals refuse to provide it.

So women in much of the state have significantly reduced access to this medical procedure compared to their wealthier city-based sisters.

Sometimes Queensland women have to go to Victoria to get the service they need. For women experiencing domestic violence, good access to abortion might be the difference between staying in a violent relationship and getting out. For others, it may be the difference between getting educated and employed, or not. Good access may mean a woman does not have to go through the deep trauma of giving birth to a full-term baby that dies at birth from foetal complications.

Queensland women sometimes have to travel to Victoria to get the abortion service they need. Picture: Generic/Thinkstock

That’s why MP Rob Pyne introduced the two recent Bills to decriminalise abortion and establish a regulatory framework in Queensland.

On Friday, the second parliamentary report on the Health (Abortion Law Reform) Amendment Bill 2016 was handed down. Unfortunately, while it identifies problems and roadblocks, it makes little effort to overcome them. It should be no surprise that the three MPs who could not recommend that the Bill even be debated are men.

We believe that, to quote writer Lindy West, “people with uteruses have the right to decide what grows inside of their body and feeds on their blood and endangers their life and reroutes their future”.

Other states, including Victoria, Tasmania, WA, SA and ACT, have made the transition into the modern era on abortion; the Northern Territory is about to do so. But the approach in Queensland conflicts with guidance of the World Health Organisation. Unless we can move forward, Queensland will be stuck with 19th century law not consistent with modern medical and abortion practice.

All three sections of the Queensland Criminal Code making abortion a crime for the doctor, the woman, and any person assisting, should be repealed. Submissions to the parliamentary inquiries from every professional body representing doctors and nurses agree with this. Abortion should then be regulated in health legislation, and it should reflect 21st century community attitudes.

Where gestational limits are concerned we support a two-tiered approach that is currently working well in Victoria. Up to 24 weeks the decision on abortion is one made between a woman and her doctor. Post 24 weeks the doctor must consult at least one other doctor and both must believe the abortion is in the interests of the woman’s mental and/or physical health.

We agree that health professionals should have a right to refuse to provide or assist with an abortion if they conscientiously object except in an emergency. If abortion is in the health legislation doctors who don’t abide by these rules may face deregulation by their professional bodies; they could also still be prosecuted under the Criminal Code when they appear to be guilty of gross negligence.

Mr Pyne’s Bill provides for buffer zones within a 50m radius of abortion clinics and we support this. While anti-choice protesters should be free to speak, the safety of women and clinic staff should be paramount.

Caroline de Costa is a professor at James Cook University.

Heather Douglas is a professor at the University of Queensland.

Over the 10 months since Mr Pyne introduced his first Bill the two parliamentary committees have worked hard and there is much to admire in both reports. The first committee found that there is majority support in Australia for a woman’s right to choose abortion. For half the members of the second committee to suggest the Bills not even be debated is an abuse of the democratic process.

It should be possible for the ambiguities or omissions identified in the second report to be rectified and for a robust piece of legislation to result. In particular, pharmacists must be included as professionals legitimately dispensing abortion medication, and it must be clear that prior to 24 weeks of pregnancy the decision for abortion can be made by one doctor.

We commend Rob Pyne for introducing and campaigning for this legislation. Parliament is being given a unique opportunity to pass legislation of great importance to the health of Queensland women. We hope that they will do so.

Caroline de Costa is Professor of Obstetrics and Gynaecology, James Cook University, Cairns
Heather Douglas is Professor of Criminal Law, University of Queensland, Brisbane