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Legislative Assembly for the ACT: 1999 Week 9 Hansard (2 September) . . Page.. 2789 ..
MR STEFANIAK (continuing):
Subsection (14)(5) says:
The Minister may, for the purposes of paragraphs 8(1)(e), approve materials containing information on -
(a) agencies operating in the Territory which provide assistance to women through pregnancy;
(b) agencies operating in the Territory that make arrangements for the adoption of children; and
(c) agencies operating in the Territory that provide assistance with family planning.
Section 8, which is referred to in section 14, makes a number of points. Subsection 8(1) says:
Where it is proposed to perform an abortion a medical practitioner shall ...
Then it lists a number of things. The relevant things there relate to subsections (14)(2), (14)(4) and 15(5). Subsection 8(1) states:
Where it is proposed to perform an abortion a medical practitioner shall -
... ... ...
(c) provide the woman with any information approved under subsection (14)(2);
(d) provide the woman with any information approved under subsection (14)(4) -
that is the one we are effectively dealing with here -
(e) provide the woman with any information approved under subsection (14)(5).
The key word in section 8 is "shall". Whilst section 14 says "may", I would submit that if the panel decided that none of the information set out in subsections 14(2), (4) and (5) were to be provided, it would then make a complete nonsense of section 8.
It is important in a situation like this, I think, to clarify the point, and that is why it is important to go back to the debate at the time. There was a fairly free-ranging debate on this particular question. It ranged from pages 2988 to 3002 of the Hansard of 25 November 1998. I am not going to attempt to read out all of that but the question of showing pictures was an emotive one. It was described as a cornerstone too, I think, of
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