BY ROBYN MARSHALL
BRISBANE — A meeting on March 19 to discuss decriminalisation of abortion in Queensland attracted interest from many quarters, including sections of the Labor Party.
The abortion issue has come back onto the political agenda now that there are 27 Labor women members of the Queensland state parliament out of the 67 Labor parliamentarians. Some 20 of these women received funding from Emily's List, an organisation specifically established to help Labor women get elected.
Women candidates who receive funding from Emily's List have to commit themselves to being "pro-choice", that is, supporting women's right to choose an abortion. However the term "pro-choice" means different things to different people. It does not necessarily indicate support for repealing the criminal laws which apply to abortion. For many Labor women MPs, pro-choice means legalising some abortions while leaving other abortions, such as late-term abortions, to remain as a criminal offence.
The test of whether the new Labor parliamentarians are sincere about their stated support for women's rights, is whether any of them are willing to propose a private members bill which totally decriminalises abortion. The Labor cabinet certainly won't propose such legislation.
Despite the legal ambiguity of carrying out the procedure, 14,000 abortions occur annually in Queensland. Because so many women are able to obtain abortions, most people don't realise that abortion has not been legalised in Queensland.
The meeting agreed that a grassroots campaign in support of abortion rights is needed because politicians can't be relied on alter the laws to grant all women free access to abortions.
The next meeting of the campaign will be on April 5 at the ACTU Queensland branch, 16 Peel St Brisbane.