Page 815 - Week 03 - Wednesday, 21 March 2018
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ACT Health also facilitates a range of specialised screening programs for women, including breast cancer screening services, aimed at reducing deaths from breast cancer through early detection of the disease. The service invites women 50 to 74 years of age for a free screening mammogram every two years. Women aged 40 to 49 years and 75 years or older are also eligible to have a free screening mammogram with the service.
The government has also committed to providing better access to health care in community settings, with new walk-in centres to be established, taking us to a total of five walk-in centres across the ACT.
I also pay tribute to our many NGO partners delivering services to women in our community: primary healthcare providers, the important work of Winnunga Nimmityjah, the Women’s Centre for Health Matters, alcohol and drug services, community services and others. I would like to highlight, as has been mentioned, the recent research into and report on Canberra women’s health needs, including younger women—“younger” being under the age of 50, a wonderful definition of younger women—and particularly their lives living with chronic disease.
I would also like to acknowledge the Women’s Centre for Health Matters work with partners, public, private and community sector right across Canberra, in the wonderful website havingababyincanberra. This provides a fantastic resource to women in our local community, and their partners, who are undergoing that exciting journey of having a baby.
Madam Speaker, as you know, the ACT is historically a leader in abortion law reform. The government is committed to continued support of the health and wellbeing of all Canberrans, including enabling them to be able to make informed decisions about whether or not to terminate a pregnancy. Ensuring access to services that assist Canberrans before, during and after making this important decision about termination of pregnancy is vital.
I welcome the tabling of Ms Le Couteur’s bill this morning and welcome the broader discussion on improving access to services in the ACT. The government has already made a commitment to review the barriers people may face when accessing abortion services in Canberra, and this review is expected to be completed in mid-2018. We also look forward to the Women’s Centre for Health Matters survey and research currently underway on women’s sexual and reproductive health in the ACT.
Abortion is the subject, sadly, of criminal law in all states and territories except the ACT. In the ACT it is considered a health issue, not a criminal matter, and as such is listed in part 6 of the ACT’s Health Act 1993. I am proud to continue in this place the work of many before me and reiterate that the ACT is progressive and does not and will not criminalise health issues.
Any amendments to current legislation require thorough consultation and analysis and I am pleased to acknowledge that this work is already underway. Currently, Canberra women can access both medical and surgical pregnancy termination services from
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