Call for abortion law repeal in government
By Robyn Marshall
BRISBANE — The Queensland Labor government is reviewing how the state's criminal code affects women. Previous attempts to reform this law have been made, but without reference to women.
The 19-woman Task force on Women and the Criminal Code held consultation meetings in March and June. The task force, chaired by Virginia Sturgess and with Zoe Rathus as deputy chair, will report to the minister for justice and attorney general, Matt Foley. Rathus has been a key fighter for women dealing with domestic violence and helped establish legal services for women.
The task force will examine the letter of the law and also its implementation. It will look at the overall experience of women in the criminal justice system, and how processes and procedures can be changed to be fair to all women, children and men.
The general areas that will be covered are rape, women who kill violent male partners, violence by women and the circumstances in which violent acts are committed, sentencing options and crimes of poverty such as fraud.
The task force will recommend to the government changes to the law to reflect women's experiences of violence, such as that of Victorian Heather Osland who was given 15 years' jail for murdering her violent husband, yet her son, who carried out the murder, was pardoned.
Despite changes in 1989 which recognised rape in marriage as a crime, there are few prosecutions under this law.
The Brisbane International Women's Day Committee has made a submission to the task force calling for the repeal of all laws in the criminal code relating to abortion. The submission cites the new abortion laws in Western Australia which have made abortion legal but with a great number of restrictions, making it even more difficult for some women to access abortion.
Women beyond 20 weeks of pregnancy need to apply to the minister for an order for an abortion. WA doctors are refusing to give a referral if the woman is more than 16 weeks' pregnant in order to prevent a prosecution if the dates were wrong. At the beginning of the year, a woman who was more than 20 weeks' pregnant had to fly interstate to obtain an abortion.
Young women often take a long time to come to terms with their condition. Women under 16 need permission from one parent or have to apply to the Children's Court to have this requirement waived. WA hospitals do not have to offer terminations.
Since many country hospitals are run by the Catholic Church, and others are being privatised, abortion access for women in rural areas is becoming increasingly limited.
Several other organisations are making submissions calling for the repeal of Queensland's abortion laws. It remains to be seen if the state government will listen.