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Legislative Assembly for the ACT: 2002 Week 6 Hansard (15 May) . . Page.. 1596 ..

MS GALLAGHER (continuing):

I am introducing these amendments in support of Mr Berry's bill to repeal the Health Regulation (Maternal Health Information) Act. I must make it clear that these amendments will come into force only if Mr Berry's bill to repeal the Health Regulation (Maternal Health Information) Act is passed.

I would ask members to carefully consider these amendments and the security they offer both to women who face the unfortunate circumstance of an unwanted pregnancy and to doctors and medical staff who seek both legal permission to carry out an abortion and a specific exemption from performing the procedure if they do not wish to.

These amendments offer women who seek a termination the reassurance that others who seek any other medical procedure expect: the reassurance of a law that protects them from malpractice by specifically stating that only registered practitioners can perform the procedure and that the procedure must be carried out in a government-approved facility.

Unfortunately, women who seek a termination have not always had this protection, either because abortion was illegal or because its legal status was untested. These amendments ensure that in the event of Mr Berry's bills being passed the concerns of the community and of women are addressed and women are specifically protected when they seek a termination.

As regards the rights of medical practitioners not to perform an abortion if they have moral or ethical reasons not to, the policy considerations are obvious. Clearly, it is not advisable to force a doctor, or anyone, to perform or take part in a procedure that they consider contrary to their personal, moral or ethical code. The AMA code of ethics states:

When a personal moral judgement or religious belief alone prevents you from recommending some form of therapy, inform your patient so that they may seek care elsewhere.

The whole point of these amendments is to protect women seeking abortion, as well as those considering one, by providing them with unambiguous legal protection. It is perhaps unfortunate that standard medical safety and obligation regulations must be drafted for abortion when they exist only generally for other procedures. To me this is indicative of the fact that the right of a woman to make a choice about her reproductive destiny is still a tenuous one.

I introduce these amendments in support of a woman's right to choose and in support of Wayne Berry's bills to deliver to the women of the ACT freedom of choice. These amendments are a sensible approach to a sensitive and often contested issue.

I urge my fellow members to support women, to look beyond their own personal responses to abortion as choice either for themselves or for others, and to accept that women do choose abortion and that to abandon them in this choice is a serious breach of the responsibility we have to the community. If you cannot support the right of women to choose, at least support the right of women to the best and safest medical treatment available by supporting these few simple amendments.

Debate (on motion by Mr Corbell ) adjourned to the next sitting.

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