Abortion laws in Queensland are out of date and in urgent need of reform, according to a University of Queensland law academic.
UQ’s TC Beirne School of Law Associate Professor Heather Douglas said the state’s abortion laws, largely drafted in 1899, were a mess and the oldest in the country.
“Essentially, whether via surgery or using a drug, abortion in Queensland is an offence and doctors who abort a pregnancy using surgical methods only have a defence if they can show that the woman’s health is at risk. But in Queensland doctors who carry out an abortion using a drug probably have no defence at all.
“The current position leaves Queensland Police in charge of abortion. Abortion must be removed from the criminal code to the health legislation – like it is in most other Australian jurisdictions.”
Dr Douglas said that while there had been great advances in the medical technology available to terminate a pregnancy, the laws had not kept up with these advances or community views.
“Studies suggest that around 80 percent of survey respondents agree that a woman should have the right to choose whether she has an abortion. For many women - and for the health budget- abortion using drugs is a safer and cheaper option," she said.
“As a result of the current legal position, there is virtually no access to abortion through the public hospital system in Queensland. This means that abortion in Queensland is also a class issue. Women with greater access to funds are more able to travel to obtain an abortion and to pay the private medical fees associated with abortion.”
Media: Associate Professor Heather Douglas, 07 3365 6605, h.douglas@law.uq.edu.au or
Lynda Flower, TC Beirne School of Law, 07 3365 2523, l.flower@law.uq.edu.au, 0488 101 266
