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ACT Right to Life AssociationMEDIA RELEASE |
New abortion informed consent legislation welcomed
The ACT Legislative Assembly was to be congratulated for passing Independent MLA
Paul Osborne's Health Regulation (Maternal Health Information) Bill 1998, said Nicola
Pantos, president of the ACT Right to Life Association.
The new legislation provides women considering abortion with a minimum standard of
information, as well as a cooling off period of three days. The final vote for the Bill,
passed by 11 votes to 6, was taken in the early hours of this morning.
"Opposing Members of the Legislative Assembly were unable to argue against the Bill
without trying to make the debate one about whether abortion should be legal or not",
Ms Pantos said.
"The Bill is not about whether abortion should be legal or not. The Bill is not even
about whether abortion should be available, as it is, almost on demand. The Bill is
basically about providing women with important information, relevant to their health,
which they can use to give informed consent to an abortion", Ms Pantos said.
"Obviously it is not possible to sustain an argument against providing information to
women. Why should women be kept in the dark?"
"Although the Association would like to see an end to abortion tomorrow, that is not
possible, so we will do all we can to make sure that all women facing a crisis pregnancy
are fully informed."
Issued: Thursday, 26 November 1998
Contact: Nicola Pantos, president of the ACT Right to Life Association,
telephone 02 6253 3100.
