Health and Safety Must Take Precedence Over Political Agendas: Defend Abortion Rights in Queensland

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Health and Safety Must Take Precedence Over Political Agendas: Defend Abortion Rights in Queensland

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The Royal Australian and New Zealand College of Obstetricians and Gynaecologists

Updated

21 October 2024

Leading health and advocacy organisations have come together in a unified response to dangerous discussions around the potential recriminalisation of abortion in Queensland.

The Royal Australian College of General Practitioners (RACGP), the Royal Australian and New Zealand College of Obstetricians and Gynaecologists (�ᰮ��), True Relationships and Reproductive Health Queensland, Queensland Sexual Assault Network (QSAN), Women’s Health Services Alliance Queensland, Family Planning Alliance Australia, and Children by Choice are calling for immediate action to safeguard the rights, health, and safety of Queensland’s women and pregnant people.

Six years after the passage of the Termination of Pregnancy Act, which decriminalised abortion in Queensland, attempts to roll back these protections are not only regressive but dangerous. These organisations stress that abortion care is essential, sensible healthcare, grounded in evidence and must be protected from political interference.

Dr Gillian Gibson, �ᰮ�� President, said:

“Abortion is a critical part of reproductive healthcare, and any attempt to recriminalise it would be an attack on the health and autonomy of pregnant people. We must trust our trained, specialised healthcare providers to make these decisions, not politicians. The medical community is clear – recriminalising abortion would take us backwards, creating unsafe situations and putting lives at risk.”

Dr Nicole Higgins, RACGP President, said abortion is healthcare and should not be politicised:

“Timely, safe and high-quality abortion care must be accessible for everyone who needs it across Australia, no matter where they live, or how much they earn. The RACGP supports holistic approaches to reproductive health, which includes improving access to safe medical or surgical abortion services. This is part of essential healthcare, and it should not be politicised. Restricting access to abortion puts the health and wellbeing of people who are pregnant at risk – it can lead to unsafe abortions which cause injuries and kill.”

Jill McKay, CEO of Children by Choice, condemned the harmful rhetoric surrounding abortion discussions:

“We need to stop the harmful and stigmatising conjecture being used in an attempt to diminish healthcare access to women and pregnant people. Abortion care has saved lives, it has supported families, it has provided choice. Abortion care is delivered ethically by our healthcare providers, where it belongs. We cannot let the personal ideologies of a few take precedence over the health and wellbeing of pregnant people. This isn’t just harmful – it’s reckless.”

“Since abortion has been thrust into the political and media spotlight in recent weeks, women and pregnant people have been contacting Children by Choice, seeking clarity about their current rights and what the future may hold. Many are feeling confused and deeply concerned that their rights could be stripped away – now or in the future. This uncertainty is already having a direct impact on their safety and wellbeing.”

All these organisations are clear in their message: decisions about healthcare must be led by medical experts, not political agendas. Recriminalising abortion would disproportionately impact vulnerable communities and those already facing barriers to healthcare, pushing them toward unsafe and dangerous alternatives.

The joint statement is unequivocal: the health and safety of Queensland’s women and pregnant people must come before political agendas. Abortion is a vital healthcare service, and any move to undermine it risks the wellbeing of our most vulnerable communities.

We call on Queensland’s political leaders to defend the Termination of Pregnancy Act and reject harmful and regressive rhetoric that seeks to undo the progress we have made.

Abortion is healthcare, and healthcare must always come before political ideology.