QCCL Calls for Abortion Law Reform
The Queensland Council for Civil Liberties has today called on the Queensland government to implement Labor party policy by reforming abortion law in Queensland. If the government is not prepared to lead on this issue it should ask the Law Reform Commission to review the issue as was done in Victoria.
QCCL President Michael Cope says that for the last twelve years the Labor Government has been saying that there is no need to reform abortion laws because the current state of the law in Queensland means any woman who wants an abortion can have one. The current criminal charges against Tegan Simone Leach and Sergie Brennan in Cairns demonstrate the fallacy of this argument.
“The charges against Ms Leach and Mr Brennan have also brought to the attention of the public the hole in the protection of doctors who perform abortions in Queensland”, Mr Cope said.
“Whilst the Council is not privy to the information received by the Cairns based obstetrician Dr de Costa, we understand that Dr de Costa is no longer prescribing RU486 because of concerns about the application of Section 282 of the Criminal Code.”
“Section 282 of the Criminal Code provides a defence for doctors performing abortions in Queensland where they consider ‘the surgical operation’ is necessary to preserve a mother’s life. The concept of the preservation of the mother’s life was interpreted by Justice Maguire in R v Bayliss & Cullen (1986) to include her physical or mental health.”
“The problem with Section 282 is that it refers to a ‘surgical operation’. No one would seriously maintain the administration of a drug is ‘surgical operation’, the QCCL president said.
“It is clear then that the government is going to have to reform abortion law in Queensland. The Council calls upon the government to implement Labor party policy by undertaking a thorough reform of the law. The Council would support this being done after the community has been able to contribute to the process through a Law Reform Commission inquiry.”
Mr Cope said QCCL’s policy on abortion was that abortion be decriminalised in the first 20 weeks of pregnancy and thereafter current laws should apply.
“The QCCL acknowledges that in our pluralist society there are different views about abortion and in keeping with its general philosophy wishes to make clear its tolerance of these views and the right of people to hold them.”
“The current case demonstrates what the Council has long maintained: the law in Queensland is too uncertain” Mr Cope said.
“The uncertainty in the law especially in relation to the availability of drugs like RU486, has serious and discriminatory consequences for economically disadvantaged and isolated women. Before RU486 became available, rural women could only access abortion by travelling to an urban area for a surgical procedure. ”
“The Council notes that medical experts like Dr Caroline de Costa advise that drugs like RU486 and misoprostol—the drug used by Tegan Leache—are safe and effective drugs, highly acceptable to women.”
“A Law Reform Commission review followed by new legislation would produce a law more certain in its operation to the benefit of women and health professionals” Mr Cope said.