Queensland Parliament votes to decriminalise abortion
ABORTION has been decriminalised in Queensland, with MPs voting 50-41 in favour of the Termination of Pregnancy Bill 2018.
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ABORTION has been decriminalised in Queensland, with MPs voting 50-41 in favour of the Termination of Pregnancy Bill 2018 in a conscience vote.
Member for Bundamba Jo-Ann Miller was the only Labor MP who voted against the Bill, while Labor Member for Logan Linus Power abstained.
Former opposition leader Tim Nicholls backed the changes, as did fellow LNP members Steve Minnikin and Jann Stuckey.
The final vote confirmed the earlier result of 51-41 in favour after the second reading of the legislation.
And it followed two days of often-emotional debate in the House, as Government, Opposition and crossbench MPs outlined the reasons for their position on the contentious Bill.
Three Labor MPs, including minister and former surgeon Anthony Lynham, supported LNP Member for Caloundra Mark McArdle’s move to make abortions legal up to 16 weeks gestation, instead of the 22 weeks in the proposed laws.
Mr Power and Member for Ipswich West Jim Madden also backed the amendments.
Seven Liberal National MPs supported the amendments, including Mr McArdle, Member for Currumbin Jann Stuckey, Sam O’Connor, Michael Crandon, Michael Hart and Rob Molhoek.
But the amendments were defeated, with an overwhelming number of MPs voting against them.
Earlier, debate wrapped up with Health Minister Steven Miles making one last pitch to undecided MPs to vote in favour of the laws.
He said those who voted against the laws would be “recorded as having let the women of this state down”.
“Queensland’s current laws are out of step with almost every other state and territory,” he said.
“This Bill before the House will significantly modernise and clarify Queensland’s laws on termination of pregnancy.
“The Bill reflects the evidence-based recommendations of the Queensland Law Reform Commission.
“If members believe that termination of pregnancy is a health issue they should vote in favour of this Bill.”
Mr Miles said he would not support the amendments put forward by Member for Caloundra Mark McArdle because he believed they diverged dramatically from recommendations of the Queensland Law Reform Commission.
“The explanatory notes for the amendments provide little in the way of rationale for the proposed changes,” he said.
“The amendments would significantly impede women’s access to health services and, for this reason, I do not support the amendments.”
Mr McArdle’s amendments would legalise terminations up to 16 weeks gestation, instead of the 22 weeks proposed in these laws.
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