Landmark abortion laws to be debated in Qld parliament

Queensland’s abortion laws will be amended to replace the term “woman” with “person”, in a move that has raised the ire of leading health unions and organisations.

Queensland’s abortion laws will be amended to replace the term “woman” with “person”, in a move that has raised the ire of leading health unions and organisations.

A landmark legislative package set to be debated in parliament this week includes giving nurses and midwives the power to dispense a medical abortion drug and putting in place midwife to patient ratios which count babies for the first time.

But changes to the Termination of Pregnancy Act also includes providing for “more inclusive language by replace references to ‘woman’ with ‘person’” when referring to abortion.

Leading health organisations including the Queensland Nurses and Midwifery Union, the Queensland Aboriginal and Islander Health Council (QAIHC), and the Queensland branch of the Australian College of Midwives raised concerns about the move.

Specifically the QNMU argued retaining the term “woman” in the legislation was important to safeguard the specific rights and experiences of women, arguing its removal has the “potential unintended consequence” of making biological sex less visible.

Children by Choice CEO Daile Kelleher, the organisation is advocating for Queensland women to have appropriate access to pregnancy termination services. Picture: David Clark.

QAIHC noted the move was “well-intentioned” and while inclusionary in a “Western cultural context” may have the “unintended context” of excluding First Nations women, trans, and gender diverse people who have a “different concept of what it means to be a woman”.

Queensland Health, in response to submissions scrutinising the laws, noted there were “differing and strongly held views about the issue”.

“Updating references to ‘woman’ with ‘person’ in the (legislation) ensures equal access to termination of pregnancy services in Queensland by removing a legal barrier for people who may be pregnant, but not a woman — for example, a transgender man or non-binary person,” a spokesman said.

A number of other organisations, including Children by Choice, the Human Rights Law Centre, the Queensland Law Society and the Australian College of Nursing were supportive of the move to update the legislation.

Max Heers, a trans masculine person who can experience pregnancy, also supported the move stating “trans and gender diverse Queenslanders face systemic barriers in accessing comprehensive reproductive health and abortion services”.

“Experiences of pregnancy and abortion are not unique to cisgender women. People with a uterus, if engaged in certain sex acts, may experience an unintended pregnancy,” Heers stated.

“Trans people experience significant health disparities compared to the general population, which can either be compounded or alleviated by the quality, safety, and cultural responsiveness of health services.”

Queensland would join the majority of Australian states and territories should the law pass, with termination of pregnancy legislation in New South Wales, South Australia, Western Australia and the ACT deploying the term “person”.

Relevant laws in Victoria, Tasmania and the Northern Territory use the term “woman”.

Originally published as Landmark abortion laws to be debated in Qld parliament