Conference discusses abortion rights
By Margarita Windisch
MELBOURNE — The Royal Women's Hospital Pregnancy Advisory Service, in conjunction with the Abortion Providers' Federation of Australia, hosted a conference on October 11-12 which brought together health professionals from all over Australia.
The conference, titled "Sex, Lies and Dilemmas: Abortion into the Next Millennium", covered themes including medical and clinical issues, abortion history in Australia and overseas, legal concerns relating to the mid-trimester termination and counselling.
Judith Dwyer, CEO of Family Planning South Australia, gave a comprehensive outline of the National Health and Medical Research Council abortion report but caused some controversy by suggesting that now was not the right time to repeal the laws which make terminating a pregnancy a criminal offence.
Many disagreed, arguing that because of the rise of the "moral" right, the increase in the activities of Right to Life and the government's restrictions on women's access to abortion, making abortion legal is the only way to combat effectively the conservatives' misogynist agenda and give women the right to make choices about their reproductive freedom.
Dwyer's position seemed to echo the Labor Party's, which is against "rocking the boat". The ALP allows its members a conscience vote on abortion, something many women find hard to accept.
Although the conference was successful, the high registration costs prohibited many activists and poorer women from participating.