Provisions of abortion laws opposed by most Qlders

Steven Miles has hailed abortion laws as the proudest moment of his career, but many of the provisions are opposed by most Queenslanders, writes Donna Purcell.

Premier Steven Miles this week. Picture: Adam Head

The audacity of Labor’s deceptive scare campaign against the LNP on the abortion issue in this state election campaign has been outrageous.

The lies of Labor and their pro-abortion fellow travellers that an LNP government would criminalise abortion are based on the fact that the vast majority of Liberal National MPs voted against Labor’s 2018 law to take abortion out of the Criminal Code.

However the debate showed that this was clearly not the reason why, using their conscience vote, all but three Liberal National MPs plus the Katter’s Australian Party MPs and Labor MP Jo-Ann Miller voted against the Bill.

The truth is that they opposed the legislation because of its extreme and brutal provisions.

Almost no one wants criminal penalties for women who have abortions, and the pro-life movement sees them as victims too.

With every abortion, the toll is one dead, one wounded.

This is largely because of the subsequent mental health consequences, and the fact that so many women are pressured into having an abortion by their boyfriends, partners, husbands, parents or social circumstances, and do not actually have a free and informed choice.

A 2019 Finnish study indicates that in the year following an abortion, women were three times more likely to suicide than the general population, and nearly six times more likely to suicide than women who gave birth.

The fact is that Labor’s Termination of Pregnancy Act, which was introduced by then health minister Steven Miles, legalised abortion up to birth for any reason.

Premier Miles is very proud of that accomplishment. Last month in a media interview he said: “Passing those abortion laws will probably forever be the proudest moment in my political career.”

Dr Donna Purcell

Labor’s law allows abortion on request up to 22 weeks of pregnancy (no questions asked), and from 22 weeks up to birth based on very loose criteria including “current and future… social circumstances”.

Consequently, Queensland Health data shows mid to late-term abortions have more than doubled to a total of 1137 from 2019-22, with 179 of these poor babies being born alive and left to die.

Yet YouGov polling of Queensland voters in 2018 showed that only 6 per cent of Queensland voters agree with late-term abortion, with 76 per cent opposed.

The vast majority of abortions are done for social and financial reasons, that includes sex-selective abortion, which 83 per cent of Queensland voters oppose.

Under Labor’s law, there are no protections for women such as a mandatory offer of free independent counselling (despite 88 per cent support for this) and informed consent provisions so the woman knows the development of the unborn child, the risks of the procedure and the alternatives (85 per cent support).

A good government should protect and care for the most vulnerable, so let us vote in such a way that a future Queensland government will do its duty to protect the women and unborn babies of this state and amend Labor’s dreadful law in line with public opinion.

Dr Donna Purcell is president of Cherish Life Queensland

Originally published as Provisions of abortion laws opposed by most Qlders