Why abortion laws should be repealed

September 23, 1992
Issue 

By Unna Liddy

[This article is based on a talk presented to a Brisbane forum in April on behalf of the Women's Abortion Campaign.]

The current legislation governing abortion access for women constrains women's rights. It limits the rights of women to make decisions about fertility, and it limits their rights of access to health services to meet their fertility needs. The laws governing abortion ought to be repealed from the criminal code. I argue for repeal rather than liberal legislation because it is the right of women to control their fertility.

In the counselling room, the question most asked by women with unplanned pregnancy is "Is it legal for me to have an abortion?" The asking of this question by so many women is an indictment of our society for preventing women from obtaining information on their rights. Women have and are still being deliberately kept in the dark and misinformed about their rights to access abortion services.

Some people, even in pro-choice groups, do not see the repeal of abortion laws as necessary. They argue that the law should remain as it is for two reasons. First they assert that currently Queensland women do have access to abortion services. Second, they fear that changing the law in any way could lead to restriction of services, as has happened in South Australia despite its comparatively liberal abortion law.

The first assertion is wrong. Access to abortion in Queensland is very difficult. The second confuses decriminalisation or repeal of the abortion laws with legislative reform (such as South Australia has had for 21 years) which simply alters the

criminal law regulating abortion. Having abortion regulated within the criminal code creates enormous symbolic and practical constraints on women's rights.

It is not true that all women in Queensland can access abortion services. Restrictions by geography are obvious: we have only four clinics in Queensland: two in Brisbane and two in the regional areas of Rockhampton and Townsville. The Rockhampton and Townsville clinics together operate only five days per fortnight. The limited number of clinics and the fact that the clinics are all on the east coast means that for many women accessing a clinic involves travelling long distances.

Less obvious barriers to access are created by psycho-social factors. For example, the first person with whom a woman discusses the option of abortion may be judgmental. This can deter women from exploring the option further. Cultural expectations of women, social norms and religious doctrines work to restrict women's rights.

Women in prisons, intellectually disabled women, non-English speaking background women, young women, Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander women are more likely to rely on formal communication channels of the social welfare system to access information about abortion choice. These women from minority groups are vulnerable to the whim of the bureaucracy, if not of the particular bureaucratic official to whom they are speaking. For example, not all Family Service branches throughout Queensland will give women information regarding abortion.

Medical facilities in rural communities are limited. In many small towns, the only medical facilities may be one general practitioner and a chemist. Because of the dynamics of small town politics, it may be virtually impossible to obtain even a pregnancy test or contraceptives. Even if there is a public hospital, women still may not be

able to get contraception unless they are married.

Abortion information is even more shrouded in silence and disapproval than contraception information. Even the heath provider who is pro-

choice can be victimised along with clients, for providing abortion information. If the health care provider is anti-choice, gaining information on abortion is impossible.

For women in very isolated rural districts, such as the central districts of Queensland, the flying doctor service may be the only medical care. What information is given to women regarding abortion is very much dictated by the personal politics of the provider. Currently, the flying gynaecologist service does not provide information on abortion.

For those women who do gain access to an abortion service, there are other issues of concern.

The cost of a first trimester abortion in Brisbane is $120 above the medical rebate. The rural clinics are more expensive and will bulk bill medical fees only for social security beneficiaries. When a woman cannot afford these up-front charges, she is forced to delay seeking an abortion. Young women, especially, have difficulties affording abortion.

For women in regional areas, there are extra costs of travel and accommodation. Women are advised to have a check-up one week and again one month following the abortion. For women in rural areas, this can be as difficult to arrange as their abortion was.

Currently we have two clinics in Brisbane, the Greenslopes clinic, and a newer clinic, Planned Parenthood of Australia. The location of this clinic across the road from the Royal Women's Hospital was hailed as a major breakthrough for women's rights, as this location served to legitimise abortion services. It was not locked away in the suburbs; it was a clinic in a very

modern, easily accessible building. Women were able to enter from an internal lower ground lift where parking off the street was available. These factors allowed women to access the clinic without having to confront anti-abortion extremists.

The clinic was ordered to vacate the premises of Bowengate Business Park by the Brisbane City Council. The council's ground for this eviction was that the clinic contravened the transport and warehouse zoning of the building. However, the council is not bound by law to enforce this zoning. Most of the tenants in this same building seemingly contravened the building's zoning, not the least being the Commonwealth Department of Health.

The symbolic importance of this clinic as an up-

front, normal health service for women was too challenging for the council to tolerate. Yet it is this normalisation of abortion as a legitimate health service which is so important in terms of women's rights.

Doctors' referrals make up approximately 65% of the number of women who approach Children by Choice for information on abortion. We can conclude from this that many doctors are unwilling to discuss abortion, or are uninformed about how to access the clinics directly. It was only as recently as the end of 1991 that Family Planning in Queensland became willing to discuss abortion choice with clients. However, this is only an ad hoc practice: there is no policy to ensure that Family Planning doctors discuss the option of abortion when counselling women with unplanned pregnancies.

During the National Party reign in Queensland, Family Planning justified its unwillingness to provide abortion referral on the grounds that some of its funding was provided by the Queensland Department of Health. Family Planning was concerned that the government could withdraw this funding if it even discussed abortion as an option. But it was quite willing to provide clients with information

on vasectomy, and perform the procedure, even though vasectomy was and still is outlawed by the Queensland Criminal Code.

While the vasectomy provisions of the code have never been tested in court, the abortion provisions have. It is now clear that not only can abortion be legally performed in Queensland but the current Queensland government has publicly stated that women will not be prevented from seeking an abortion. Yet the Family Planning Association in Queensland still refuses to provide an abortion referral service. If does the Family Planning Association does not want to provide an abortion referral service, then perhaps it should consider changing its name, so that women are not under the impression that it provides the same service as Family Planning Associations in other states.

Medical McCarthyism

Currently, the experiences of women seeking access to abortion services vary greatly, and can be long and protracted. Access to information on abortion may depend on knowing others who have been in the same situation, or on chancing upon an agency willing to refer.

Nowhere else do we allow a moral doctrine to influence the health services available. What is happening to women can be likened to medical McCarthyism. Women are being prevented from taking the responsibility for their own fertility and health when their request is met by judgmental or punitive medical treatment.

Inherent in repeal is the removal altogether of any legislation governing abortion from the criminal code. South Australia has not removed abortion from the criminal code, but has reformed its criminal code in relation to abortion.

This reform was considered progressive when it was introduced in 1970. It made the legality of

abortion clear to all, and provided the guidelines under which women could access abortion services.

The law also required that abortions be part of the mainstream health system by requiring that they be carried out in hospitals. It is this last clause which has restricted the services and created difficulties for South Australian women. It has prevented the establishment of free-standing services and made abortion compete within the budget allocations of hospitals with other medical needs.

We must not settle for legislative reform — which can so easily be subverted. We must be clear in our campaign to remove abortion entirely from the criminal code. This would then allow services to develop and be regulated as are all other health services.

What we are experiencing are clear discriminatory practices against women. We need the laws to regard abortion as a necessary part of the provision of women's reproductive health services. We need free-

standing non-profit women's health centres which cater for the complete range of women's reproductive health services based on feminist principles. We need the laws governing abortion to be repealed.

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