Abortion must be decriminalised in Australia: we can’t take our reproductive rights for granted
Mehreen Faruqi
Despite a majority of people supporting a woman’s right to choose, abortion is still a criminal offence in Queensland and NSW. It’s time to remove the shame and end the stigma
Mehreen Faruqi is a Greens NSW MP and the Greens spokeswoman on multiculturalism and transport
Wednesday 8 March 2017
It’s 17 years into the 21st century, yet the most basic right of women to have control over their own bodies is under attack not just in Trump’s United States but across the world – even in Australia.
One of the first executive orders signed by the US president reinstated and expanded the global gag rule which will strip US aid funds from NGOs that provide abortion or related services, including information or referrals, or even advocate for modernising abortion laws. This could impact millions of women in the most vulnerable circumstances by blocking their access to vital health services. Bolstered by this decision, the anti-choice lobby’s calls to cut off funding to Planned Parenthood have become even stronger and louder.
Continued at source: The Guardian: https://www.theguardian.com/commentisfree/2017/mar/08/abortion-must-be-decriminalised-in-australia-we-cant-take-our-reproductive-rights-for-granted