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Pro choice or pro life? Criminalisation doesn’t work

By Elizabeth Mathews - posted Friday, 9 October 2009


On the other hand, all that the criminalisation of abortion does is to force frightened women into dangerous situations, which could ruin their lives forever.

Many people forget that a jail sentence does more than deprive a young woman of liberty - it will affect her for the rest of her life. Should Tegan Leach be convicted, she will never be able to become a teacher, policewoman or a lawyer. She will never be able to travel to the United States. Should her jail term exceed five years, she will be unable to vote in Commonwealth elections. In essence, she will be denied many of the opportunities our society regards as rights on the basis of a law that 64 per cent of Queenslanders are opposed to.

Tegan, and women in her situation, need support to help them make the decision, which is best for them, not punishment. Victoria’s done it and so can we.

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So, to those in the Queensland Parliament who oppose the decriminalisation of abortion, I ask you, please reconsider: the next generation of young women will thank you.

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About the Author

Elizabeth Mathews is a Policy Offer at Left Right Think-Tank, Australia’s first independent and non-partisan think-tank of young minds.

Creative Commons LicenseThis work is licensed under a Creative Commons License.

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