Federal parliament is likely to vote this week on whether a politician or health professionals will determine access to RU486, a drug used to terminate pregnancies in their early stages. The MPs of both major parties will have a conscience vote, and the outcome of this important vote hangs in the balance.
Currently, the law allows the federal health minister to decide whether or not RU486 should be available in Australia. The Therapeutic Goods Administration is charged with the task of assessing the safety of every other drug used in Australia — it should be allowed to assess RU486 on the basis of the medical and scientific evidence. The private member's bill to be voted on will remove the health minister's veto over the availability of RU486.
The World Health Organisation, the Australian Medical Association and the Royal Australian and New Zealand College of Obstetricians, among others, agree that RU486 is safe and effective.
Pro-choice groups GetUp and Reproductive Choice Australia are calling on all supporters of women's right to choose to use the special page on the GetUp website to contact their MP directly and urge them to vote for the bill. Just go to <http://www.getup.org.au/campaign/everyvotecounts>, type in your postcode, then type a message to your MP. GetUp will do the rest.
From Green Left Weekly, February 8, 2006.
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