A report released by the Health, Environment and Agriculture Committee has waved through amendments to the Termination of Pregnancy Act that will support nurses and midwives administering medical abortions. Clause 22 of the Health and Other Legislation Amendment Bill (No. 2) 2023 will ‘insert a new section 6A into the Termination of Pregnancy Act to allow health practitioners registered in the professions of nursing, midwifery or another prescribed profession to perform a medical termination of pregnancy. The amendments clarify that a practitioner performs a medical termination if the practitioner prescribes, or gives a treatment dose of, a termination drug for use in a termination.’
Australian Christian Lobby (ACL) Queensland Director, Rob Norman, said, “This report underscores a broken parliamentary committee system that turns a deaf ear to submissions that don’t align with the Government’s extreme social agenda.
“Queensland’s parliamentary process enables the radical social agendas of left-wing Governments to be rammed through without the checks and balances Queenslanders expect. Queensland is the only State in Australia without an Upper Houses, or house of review.”
Mr. Norman said, “Queensland’s abortion rate is already stunningly and tragically above the other States with 44% of the nation’s prescribed MS-2 Step abortion pills being administered in Queensland. Not only is Queensland killing more unborn babies than the southern States, but as the Australian Medical Association Queensland highlighted in their submission to the Committee, we are also placing women in rural and remote areas of the State at risk, by having registered nurses administer drugs that cause complications in 5% of the women who take them.
“The ACL will publish the voting records of all Queensland Members of Parliament prior to the October State Election.”
The ACL calls on all Queensland MPs to reject the committee report and vote against the Health and Other Legislation Amendment Bill (No. 2) 2023.
