Sixty women who have had abortions campaign for decriminalisation
Sixty Sydney women have come out on Facebook to declare themselves criminals and dare NSW Police to arrest them for having "illegal" abortions, on the eve of a bill proposing decriminalisation in the state.
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Sixty Sydney women have come out on Facebook to declare themselves criminals and dare NSW Police to arrest them for having "illegal" abortions, on the eve of a bill proposing decriminalisation in the state.
The women name the year in which they had an abortion in NSW on a Facebook page entitled #ArrestUs, with some of them giving dates of three abortions and the journalist and academic Wendy Bacon, listing four.
The mass outing was the inspired by activist and pro-choice campaigner Wendy McCarthy who, 50 years ago, urged women to sign a full-page newspaper advert declaring they, too, had also committed an act still considered a crime in NSW.
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“We’ve all had abortions in simple, complicated or difficult circumstances but the one thing we have in common is we did it in a situation that that sits under a crimes act,” said mother-of-one and lead campaigner Emily Mayo, 42, who had an abortion at 12 weeks in 2005.
“This is a health issue for us, this is about us saying women should be able to make a choice about their bodies and reproduction.
“Some of us had abortions in the 60s, some of us only weeks ago, but we all feel strongly enough to put our names to the campaign and be arrested for it if we have to.
“The law needs to change, abortion needs to be decriminalised, it places doctors and the women at risk,” she told The Daily Telegraph.
Union organiser Ms Mayo said she was inspired to launch a decriminalisation campaign by reading about 80 women in the 1970s who took out a advertisement in a national newspaper to campaign for legalising abortion.
“That was 50 years ago and things haven’t changed and the law that criminalises abortion is more 119 years old,” she said.
“The women who took out the advert in the 1970s did it because they could. They had the privilege to be able to speak up and they believed they had a responsibility to do so.”
The Facebook post states the abortion experiences of the women are diverse.
“Arrest us,” it says, adding, “Abortion is still a crime in NSW. Now it is time for it to change.”
The group includes former politicians, academics, the former CEO of the Diversity Council of Australia, Professor Nareen Young and a range of gender equality activists.
Businesswoman and equality advocate Wendy McCarthy has added her voice and signature to the campaign but did not organise the new movement.
Mother of three, Christine Donayre, 48, had three abortions in 20 years, the first in 1987 and the last in 2007.
“The first time I was pregnant I was 17 and very young, I was in in love but not ready to have a child,” the HR worker from Wollongong said.
“It was the difficult to know where to go and who to speak to so my family arranged for me to go to family planning clinic and have the procedure there with the partner at the time.
“The next one was two before my daughter was born in in 1992 when I was in abusive and violent and it wasn’t the right circumstances at that time to raise a child. I was using contraception but not in right head space to have a child.
“Having said I had a daughter two years later with him when we were married - you’re hopeful it’s going to get better but it never does.
“Fast forward I’m now happily married to second husband with three children, two to my first husband, and I became pregnant again when I was 37, it was clear to me I didn’t want four children.
“We weren’t using contraception and it was a mistake, I couldn’t face another pregnancy, the first year after birth, no sleep, it’s really hard, I just never realised I was committing a crime, as far as I knew, it was a medical procedure and I have them all before I was ten weeks.”
Health worker Summer Finlay, 38, was 21 when she underwent an abortion with the support of a friend and partner.
“Everyone’s situation is different, I was working in retail and my partner at the time was at university, I didn’t feel I was in any shape or form able to take care of a baby,” she told The Daily Telegraph.
“Abortion is not a decision women take lightly and they need to be supported especially in rural and remote areas where there is a lack of health care.
“I told my mother for the first time about my decision before putting my name to the campaign and she said, ‘I support your decision.’”
Ms Mayo and Ms Finlay both had abortions at six weeks.
Mother-of-two Mindy Clamp, 37, underwent two abortions at six and eight weeks in 2002 and last year.
“It was a bold action in the seventies for women to come out and a bold move now, we’re professional women, mums and activists united in the belief that abortion is a medical procedure - not a crime,” he said.
“Last year I made the decision to go through with it because my partner at the time was not supportive and I needed to focus my two other children.
“There is a lot of cross bench support for the bills, it’s not just women campaigning for decriminalisation.”
Ms McCarthy, who had an abortion in 1963, opened today’s protest with a speech saying abortion is legal but not lawful.
“Women can get the financial support but they and their doctors are still at risk of prosecution,” she said.
About 200 pro-choice and pro-life protesters have clashed outside NSW Parliament on Tuesday morning as MPs prepare to debate a bill that would decriminalise abortion across the state.
A handful of anti-abortion protesters held black signs that read “abortion is murder” as they yelled “shame on you” outside the Macquarie St building.
Their opponents held signs that read “her body, her choice” and “choose life”.
The Reproductive Health Care Reform Bill 2019, introduced by independent Alex Greenwich, is co-sponsored by 15, cross party politicians.
NSW Health Minister, Brad Hazzard, has said it is "time for change".
The reform would mean termination up to 22 weeks is regulated as a medical procedure and would no longer carry the risk of prosecution under the Crimes Act 1900.
Beyond that time, it would require the approval of two doctors.
The campaign coincides with the Uniting Church throwing its support behind decriminalisation.
In an open letter to MPs, reverend Simon Hansford maintains abortion was a health and social issue.
“Respect for the sacredness of life means advocating for the needs of women as well as every unborn child,” he said.
“While we encourage our ministers to remind people of the sacredness of life, the church’s role should be to offer care and support leading up to and following a decision, not stand in judgment.”
Former National party leader Barnaby Joyce has launched an online petition against the bill, soliciting more than 8,000 signatures.
His petition calls for a parliamentary inquiry into the issue and warns against rushing through laws.
“The most vulnerable people in our society are the children that are unborn,” Joyce wrote in the post.
“Every life is a miracle. Every life is miraculous.”
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