In April, a 19-year-old Queensland woman was charged with procuring an abortion and her partner with helping to procure an abortion. They found out first hand that the widely supported notion of a woman's right to choose what to do with her own body is not legally recognised in the Sunshine State.

The woman and her partner will be the first people in at least 50 years to face criminal charges for abortion. The woman faces up to seven years in jail, while her partner faces three years.

To legally access abortion in Queensland, a woman must go to one of the handful of hospitals that offer abortion and expect to pay between $370 to $1100, even more for women living in regional areas. The young Cairns couple did not know where or how to get an abortion - and is it any wonder when most of the organisations in the Yellow Pages are anti-choice front groups. The National Pregnancy Hotline launched by the Howard government is run by a Christian group which opposes abortion and contraception.

The case is to be heard on June 11 and is sure to set a precedent in Queensland. If the couple are convicted, it will be a win for those trying to wind back women's rights.

Already pro-choice activists have rallied behind the Cairns couple. A counter-demonstration in May successfully stopped the anti-choice bigots marching on State Parliament, and another demonstration is planned in Brisbane the day before the trial.

The state Labor government of "feminist" Anna Bligh has come out decisively on the side of the anti-choice bigots. They have said they have no plans to change the legislation. They have also allowed the anti-choice organisation "Cherish Life" to hold its Annual General Meeting inside Parliament House! There will be a protest outside the meeting on June 27 to tell the anti-choice bigots and the Labor Party that abortion is a right, not a crime.

Over 80 per cent of people in Australia support a woman's right to choose. The ideology that denies women the right to choose is promoted by anti-choice bigots and their supporters in the media and government as "family values". Anything that challenges the idea that women exist only to be nurturing and loving mothers and caregivers is portrayed as unnatural. We have to stand up to that and say, as the pro-choice slogan goes: "Our bodies, our lives, our right to decide."

Source: http://www.sa.org.au