Page 1120 - Week 05 - Tuesday, 23 June 1992
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TERMINATION OF PREGNANCY (REPEAL) BILL 1992
Debate resumed.
MRS CARNELL: There is also nothing to suggest that the Act has resulted in more women choosing to continue with their pregnancies with a view to either keeping or adopting out the child. The only thing the Termination of Pregnancy Act seems to have achieved is a situation in which more than 1,100 ACT women annually are forced to go interstate to seek to exercise their common law right - a safe termination. This situation is particularly discriminating against women on low incomes or with no incomes at all of their own or those who are trapped in violent relationships. By any measure, it would seem that the 1978 legislation has been a failure. It would be remiss of any government not to re-examine legislation that has so obviously not achieved its aims. It is for these reasons that I support the repeal of the Termination of Pregnancy Act 1978.
I am confident that every person here today shares my view that abortion is a tragedy and something we as a community must do everything in our power to reduce the need for. Abortion is a tragedy, but this does not mean that we should turn a blind eye to the problem. If we believe that by ignoring the problem or by allowing unrealistic obstacles to stand in the way of women seeking a safe termination somehow the problem will go away, we are making the ostrich with its head in the sand seem positively open-minded.
As an Assembly we should not let our personal views on the morality of abortion, no matter how strongly these views are held, get in the way of our capacity to deal with the reality of the moment. The reality is that women are still being raped, both inside and outside of marriage, that contraception still has a failure rate, that education on fertility control is still inadequate, and that many women still do not have the self-esteem required to exercise their rights in relationships. While we fail to address these issues we also fail to address the problem of abortion. No amount of moralising or pontificating will make this problem go away.
This repeal Bill gives this Assembly the perfect opportunity to set goals for the future, a vision, if you like, to reduce the number of unwanted pregnancies and at the same time to improve the general health and welfare of ACT women. I strongly believe that this can be achieved only by a holistic approach to women's health and fertility needs. We must encourage the provision of an environment in which women can make the decisions that are relevant to their own personal circumstances. This includes the provision of support services for those women who choose to continue with their pregnancies as well as for those who find themselves unable to do so. It includes advice and education on fertility matters, particularly for the at-risk groups, the very young, and educationally and socially deprived women. It also includes the provision of adequate and appropriate counselling services. Let us set this goal and work towards having the lowest abortion rate in Australia, based on knowledge and support but not on prohibition.
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