Abortion made legal in Queensland

The Queensland Parliament held a conscience vote on the new laws on Wednesday night, with sitting hours extended so the bill could be finalised on the night of voting.
 
The new laws, which were drafted based on recommendations from the state’s law reform commission, will allow legal abortion up to 22 weeks’ gestation. Abortions may also be performed after this period if the medical practitioner performing the procedure has consulted with a second medical practitioner and they are in agreement the abortion should proceed.
 
Women undergoing terminations will also be protected from harassment by protestors by the creation of safe access zones of 150 metres surrounding termination and fertility clinics.
 
Pregnancy termination was previously classified as an ‘offence against morality’ under Queensland’s criminal code, and could not be legally performed even in cases of rape, incest and foetal abnormality.
 
Queensland Premier Annastacia Palaszczuk supported the framing of abortion as a health issue rather than a legal one.
 
‘I’ve always believed a woman should be able to talk to her doctor about her own health and her own body without it being a crime,’ she said.
 
A conscience vote that allowed MPs to vote outside of their party lines resulted in some surprises, particularly from the three MPs from the Liberal National Party (LNP) whose votes were cast in defiance of their party’s formal policy.
 
‘It goes against, obviously, the party policy and quite a few other comments and concerns that people had, so I didn’t make it lightly,’ former Queensland Opposition Leader Tim Nicholls, an LNP member who voted in support of the law change, said.
 
‘I made it after a lot of consideration but I think it’s the right decision, and I think it ... will be seen to be a very historic day for the right reasons.’
 
One Labor MP, Jo Ann Miller, voted against the law changes, while another, Linus Power, abstained from voting.
 
Dr Bruce Willett, Chair of RACGP Queensland, told newsGP the faculty is supportive of the new laws.
 
‘RACGP Queensland applauds the changes, as they make it safer for women and doctors when making decisions about their reproductive health,’ he said.
 
‘Termination of pregnancy is more properly a medical issue than a criminal one.’
 
Dr Willett emphasised, however, the need to respect the rights of doctors who are uncomfortable with pregnancy termination.
 
‘It is also important that conscientious objectors are not required to perform these procedures under the law change,’ he said. ‘Although they are obliged to refer women to another practitioner or service who will, if this is a service they are seeking.’

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