Lin Thorp (Tasmania, Australian Labor Party) Share this | Link to this | Hansard source

Today I stand in unity with over 80 per cent of Australians who believe a woman is the only person who can make the final decision about whether or not she has an abortion. I believe that women have the right to make decisions about their own bodies, and I believe that access to safe and legal abortion is a fundamental aspect of this right. What I find hard to believe is that abortion is still defined under the criminal codes in the majority of Australian states. This creates an uncertain environment for women and their doctors alike. It puts up a barrier to effective health care and often disadvantages the most vulnerable women in our communities.

Today, I am pleased to inform the chamber that my home state of Tasmania has taken an important step toward overcoming this anachronistic law, a law that is clearly out of step with community values. Fittingly, on International Women's Day, Tasmania's state health minister, Michelle O'Byrne, proposed a private members' bill that will remove abortion from the criminal code. It will ensure that women and their doctors will no longer have to fear criminal sanctions for the termination of a pregnancy. Currently, women and doctors in Tasmania are open to criminal charges for unlawful abortion. These laws fail to recognise changing community standards and deny women the status of competent and conscientious decision makers. If these laws are retained, we are sending a clear message that women who go ahead with abortions may be criminals just because they feel they cannot proceed with a pregnancy. We are also sending the message that women cannot be trusted to make effective decisions about their lives and their futures.

The Tasmanian health minister's proposed law, which is based on reforms in Victoria and the Australian Capital Territory, will rightfully recognise termination as a health issue, not a legal one. It will reduce uncertainty for doctors and will ensure that women's rights are enshrined. Currently, Tasmanian women have access to only two local doctors who will perform terminations and two specialists who fly in for weekly clinics. While some women have the financial capacity to fly interstate to secure a termination, there are many who simply cannot afford it. It is these people who are being unfairly disadvantaged by the situation.

By removing abortion from the criminal code, we can remove uncertainty for doctors and encourage more clinics to open free from potential criminal sanctions. We also create an environment where women can make this difficult decision surrounded by their own local support networks. And despite the many falsehoods that are out there, there is simply no evidence that the proposed changes will increase the rate of termination. International studies have shown that the legal status of termination has no impact on its incidence. We have seen this here in Australia where differing laws from state to state have had little impact on termination rates. Instead, the proposed changes will merely make the procedure safer and reduce the associated stigma that can be so damaging to women's mental and emotional health.

Good health is essential to allowing women to lead productive and fulfilling lives, and the right of women to control all aspects of their health, including their fertility, is core to the personal empowerment of women. Sexual and reproductive health rights cut across many of the basic human rights that I believe are at the core of what the Labor Party stands for. Importantly, the proposed legislation will also create a provision for safe zones around the clinics that offer these services. Within these zones, a person must not protest, film, threaten, harass or intimidate. This is an important addition that will help to protect the safety, dignity and emotional wellbeing of women.

Australia has come a long way in the long road to safe, accessible and non-judgemental abortion. I urge all my colleagues to be vigilant in ensuring that we do not let that slip backward. I also put on the record my unerring support for Michelle O'Byrne's bill to recognise the rights of women and remove abortion from Tasmania's criminal code.