An update on the campaign to decriminalise abortion in Queensland
Fair Agenda members have been giving generously to power the campaign in Queensland. Here's what we've done so far.
What's happening?
As you may have seen, last month the Queensland Government announced new legislation to reform the state’s abortion laws.
The proposed laws are really promising, and are almost exactly what Fair Agenda and other groups have been advocating for.
They will provide women with the legal right to access abortion care up until 22 weeks in pregnancy; and then after 22 weeks with the support of two doctors who agree it's appropriate in all the circumstances. (This is almost exactly the same as the rules in Victoria; except there a woman retains decision-making control until 24 weeks).
Importantly, the proposed laws also provide patients with a right to referral for unbiased advice (which is important if their doctor is religious and refuses to give advice on abortion), and includes safe access zone provisions that will protect patients and staff from the harassment that has been happening outside abortion clinics.
These are really positive laws; so Fair Agenda members have been hard at work doing everything we can to ensure they're passed by the parliament.
Here's what Fair Agenda has been able to do so far
First, we organised snap rally outside parliament the day after the Law Reform Commission announced these changes to the law. We coordinated experts and community members to show support, and secured positive coverage in key media outlets (you can see the Courier Mail coverage here).
Second, we commissioned and released polling showing that 71 per cent of Queensland voters support the decriminalisation of abortion, and public sentiment on other key provisions within the proposed new laws, and have supported Fair Agenda members to send the results to their local MPs.
Third, the team have collected powerful personal stories from Queenslanders who have been impacted by the current laws - which we're currently releasing in a series of powerful online videos, you can see one of them here.
Here's what we're working on next
#1. The proposed laws are really strong; but before they can be put to a vote, they'll have to survive a committee process. We know that anti-choice groups are working hard to flood the committee with negative feedback; and are trying to build support for amendments to water down the legislation.
So we've been supporting community members and expert organisations to make submissions, and ensure pro-choice voices are heard in this process. If you're interested, you can see the how-to guide we developed here.
#2. We're also shoring up votes to ensure enough MPs support these changes when they're brought to a vote. Sources have told us the vote will be close, so we’re prioritising 11 target MPs to get the legislation over the line.
#3. We are also contacting each and every state MP to ask them how they plan to vote on the legislation — and we'll use the results to help focus member attention, and drive media coverage around the issue.
So we've been supporting community members and expert organisations to make submissions, and ensure pro-choice voices are heard in this process. If you're interested, you can see the how-to guide we developed here.
#2. We're also shoring up votes to ensure enough MPs support these changes when they're brought to a vote. Sources have told us the vote will be close, so we’re prioritising 11 target MPs to get the legislation over the line.
#3. We are also contacting each and every state MP to ask them how they plan to vote on the legislation — and we'll use the results to help focus member attention, and drive media coverage around the issue.
And, of course, we'll be working to respond to anything the anti-choice groups throw at us.
There's still a lot of work ahead before we can win this - but we're closer than ever, and we wouldn't be in this position without the support of Fair Agenda members. If you'd like to chip in to make the next steps possible, click here.
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