Queensland's LNP Women abandons abortion policy push at convention
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Version 0 of 1. A motion to debate whether to give foetuses pain relief before a late-term abortion has been pulled from the agenda of the Queensland Liberal National party convention. The convention, the first since the party lost government in the January state election, is set to see a debate about changes to the party’s policies and structure. LNP Women put forward that the LNP should support legislation to provide pain relief for a foetus in late term abortions. The resolution was printed in the convention’s agenda but the author of it, LNP Women’s vice president, Peta Simpson, says it has now been pulled from the program. “[I introduced it] because I think it’s important children who are torn limb from limb have some pain relief, don’t you?” she told Guardian Australia. Asked why it was pulled, Simpson said LNP Women had decided it was not the right time to debate the motion. However, some sources have said there were concerns in the wider party it would be a controversial issue that could overshadow other parts of the convention. The official state parliamentary party response was that it was a conscience issue. “Policy positions relating to unborn children/abortion are traditionally considered a matter of conscience for individual members of parliament,” it said. “In the event of medically necessary terminations, the clinical decision making is left to the medical professionals.” Simpson was inspired to put the motion in by Nebraska’s Pain-Capable Unborn Child Protection Act. “When you’re interested in any issue you try to stay on top of what is happening around the world,” she said. Simpson said there was nothing to hide over the motion being pulled from the agenda and she was surprised it had made the official program at all. Associate professor Pieter Mourik, a retired obstetrician who divides his time between fertility treatment provider Reproductive Medicine Albury and teaching duties at the Clinical School of the University of New South Wales, criticised the proposal as being motivated by emotion. “I think these people are naive and I wonder what their medical qualifications are,” he said. “It’s an emotional reaction, it lacks evidence and lacks credibility.” Mourik said late term abortions were very rare and usually done for severe medical problems. The procedure for such abortions was different to that for abortions earlier in the term, and usually involved a needle, which resulted in a similar level of pain to that of a blood test or vaccination. |