Many Australians are probably unaware that in many states it is still a crime to terminate a pregnancy.
It’s now long overdue for Australia to join the 21st century and once and for all remove abortion from the criminal code of every state and territory.
Whilst it has long been settled by the courts that terminations are lawful where there is a serious threat to a woman’s physical or mental health, in two states — Queensland and NSW — abortion remains in the books as a criminal offence.
Section 244 of the Queensland criminal code makes it clear that any women who has an abortion outside these rules is committing an extremely serious criminal offence.
“Any person who, with intent to procure the miscarriage of a woman, whether she is or is not with child, unlawfully administers to her or causes her to take any poison or other noxious thing, or uses any force of any kind, or uses any other means whatever, is guilty of a crime, and is liable to imprisonment for 14 years”. – Queensland Criminal Code 1899
14 years!
Even in states where abortion has been removed from the criminal statutes, women will still struggle to exercise their right to a safe termination depending on who runs the nearest hospital and their access to health services.
The recent move by a private provider to try to extend medical abortion to those in rural and regional areas has highlighted, as Reproductive Choice Australia co-president Jenny Ejlak said this week, ‘‘it’s a little bit of a postcode lottery for women”.
History shows criminalising abortion does not stop women seeking terminations; it just drives them to seek unsafe, unregulated abortions.
Illegal abortions performed prior to 1971 were second in the five main causes of maternal death for Australian women. In 1965, in Australia, there were 45 maternal deaths due to abortion. Restricting access to surgical or medical abortions will not protect women’s health; in fact, the opposite is true.
As a pro-choice woman, I am just that: protect the right of women to choose what is best for themselves. For women and men who care about them making the decision to terminate a pregnancy is not an easy one. We should support their choices as much as possible, not stigmatise them though criminal law. We should be making sure that they have access to supportive environments, adequate information and services through which to make their choices. I respect women enough to know that they have the ability to decide for themselves what is best for them. We are, after all, fully capable of moral choices. It is and should be their decision.
Abortion should be removed from the criminal codes of every single jurisdiction and the right of any women to decide whether or not to continue with a pregnancy has no place in the criminal code of Australia in the 21st century.
Top Comments
I would never have an abortion, but that me. I would never deny that right to another woman. I am against the fact that there is a small minority who use it as birth control.
Do women really use it as birth control, or is that just your opinion? Where are the stats that prove this?
I find it very strange that people would do this.
Unfortunately an old friend of mine use to use it. She hated the pill. I tried to tell her about methods but she wasn't interested.
Situation 1) woman just finds out she's pregnant and is overjoyed. She is walking to meet her husband who is waiting at a restaurant to celebrate. As she crosses the street a car hits her, a drunk driver. She ends up in hospital but doesnt survive nor does the baby. Her husband distraught and angry starts talking to various media campaigning for a longer sentence for the drunk driver who he says took two lives, his wife's and his unborn baby. He gains support from millions of people who agree.
Scenario 2)
Woman falls pregnant and simply isn't ready to have a baby. She aborts. But in this scenario apparently it isn't murder it's just a.....abortion. It's her choice therefore there's no fault though it's a deliberate action to abort a life
It's a life that without being aborted would be born into the world.
Apart from pregancies that resulted from non consensual and (rare) death risk to the mother - how can aborting a life (which is every foetus minus miscarriage) truly be seen as absolutely innocent totally ethical ?
3 of my close girlfriends have had abortions and I supported them even know it went against my gut feeling. All of them were women in their 30's who admitted in failing to take precautions and wanted to rid themselves of the mammoth responsibility of becoming parents.
I just don't understand how there is no one willing to talk BEYOND the 'war cry' of its a woman's right. That statement closes the door to the conversation it does encourage open dialogue about some women who are pro choice have also reservations about SOME of the reasons why abortions are being sought. It is a dialogue that needs to start and go beyond the one liner placards