Abortion in Australia
Essay Preview: Abortion in Australia
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Approximately 70 000 to 80 000 women undergo abortions in Australia every year [
Every state and territory in Australia has laws legislating what is an unlawful abortion. As abortion law falls under state rather than federal law, this essay will examine the legislation that operates in Queenslands jurisdiction. Key arguments presented by activist groups, namely both Pro-Choice and the Pro-Life organisations will be discussed. In addition, emphasis will be placed upon Queensland abortion laws becoming more synchronised with the civil rights of women.
So what is an abortion? An “abortion is defined as the ending of the process of gestation after the egg has attached itself to the uterine wall, and before the foetus is possibly capable of surviving outside the womb, with or without artificial support” [
Statutory provisions in every State and Territory of Australia make it a crime to unlawfully administer any poison or noxious thing, or use any instrument or other means, with intent to procure miscarriage. This crime may be committed by the pregnant woman herself or by the person performing the abortion. It is also a crime for anyone to supply or procure anything which that person knows is intended to be used unlawfully to procure a miscarriage.
The phraseology of all these Australian statutory provisions is directly based on statutory provisions enacted last century in England: sections 58 and 59 of the Offences Against the Person Act 1861. These 1861 provisions replaced somewhat comparable abortion provisions in the earlier Offences Against the Person Act 1837. These had in turn replaced provisions prohibiting abortion contained in Lord Landsdownes Act 1828, which had in their turn superseded those in Lord Ellenboroughs Act 1803. Before the introduction of Lord Ellenboroughs Act, it was generally not a crime under English common law to carry out an abortion. [
The Queensland legislation regulating abortion is contained in Sections 224, 225, and 226 of the Queensland Criminal Code [1899], a statutory codification of the Common Law. The law prohibits abortion unless a mothers life is in immediate danger from the continuation of the pregnancy. Murder or manslaughter provisions would not apply as Section 292 distinguishes a person from an unborn child. In any State and Territory, the statutory provisions that prohibit unlawful abortion can apply to an abortion performed at any stage of pregnancy. The legal test for when an abortion is not unlawful and is therefore permitted is different in each State and Territory of Australia. The Queensland Criminal Code [1899] also contains a defence for unlawful abortion in Section 282. This defence authorises a person to perform the surgical operation for the benefit of the patient, if the operation is reasonable due to the circumstances of that situation. The procedure must also be carried out in good faith and with reasonable care and skill.[
There is a compound of reasons for women to seek an abortion. Prevalent reasons include that the mother is unable to meet the expense of keeping the infant; having a baby would impede occupation, education or other obligations; and that the pregnancy transpired in consequence of rape or incest. Upon the occurrence of these circumstances, women generally have three practicable contingencies. They can proceed with the pregnancy and keep the baby, they can proceed with the pregnancy and adopt the baby out, or they can have the pregnancy aborted. It is the last solution which generates the majority of disputation.
Abortion in Australia is presented as a great controversial issue that polarises the community. It has become one of the most divisive and contentious issues of our time, turned into a legal and political power struggle with no permanent resolution in sight. Yet it need not be. Social, and therefore media, attention has been focused almost exclusively on the differences between pro-life and pro-choice forces. Pro-Life is often synonymous with Anti-Abortion, and related partially to Anti-Choice. Pro-Choice is often assumed to be synonymous with Pro-Abortion, and by opponents, with Anti-Life.
The Queensland Right to Life Society is one of the many organisations in Queensland dedicated to the prohibition of abortion throughout the state. The Queensland Right to Life Society, along with other Pro-Life bodies, believe that a human being is alive from the second of conception and therefore terminating the pregnancy represents murder. Furthermore, they hold