Queensland Labor last night defied medical advice and legislated so nurses can provide chemicals to mothers to kill their unborn babies.
The Queensland branch of the Australian Medical Association said the new laws allowing registered nurses to prescribe the abortion pill RU 486 could put mothers at risk, particularly in remote areas.
“Prescribers must be able to accurately date pregnancies, exclude ectopic pregnancy via a pelvic scan, determine if patients are at risk due to other existing conditions and ensure escalation pathways are available, including access to local emergency health care (usually within two hours’ drive),” AMA Qld chief executive Brett Dale wrote in a public submission before last night’s vote.
“Unfortunately, it is often the case in rural and remote areas that patients do not have this access and even medical practitioners cannot safely prescribe MToP (medical termination of pregnancy) medicines. Extending prescribing authority to registered nurses in this context would not result in increased access and could put patients at risk.”
Doctors should not be describing chemicals which kill unborn babies and often harm their mothers as “medicines”.
The LNP Opposition, which has vowed not to change Queensland’s brutal abortion-to-birth laws if it wins the October election, did the right thing on this occasion and voted against allowing nurses to prescribe RU 486.
Premier Steven Miles immediately took to social media to write: “The LNP just voted against our laws to give Queensland women better access to abortion care.”
They of course did nothing of the sort. RU 486 is a lethal human pesticide with often harmful side effects for mothers, such as severe bleeding and sometimes death.
Abortion is not “care” but Miles, who was forced to apologise for lying to Parliament this week, lives in a parallel universe.
Family First is deeply disappointed that the LNP is taking a policy to the election to uphold the abortion-to-birth laws.
However, last night’s decision to oppose Labor’s legislation is welcome and it certainly helped that the AMA was also against it.
Far more courage will be needed to create a culture of life where babies are welcomed and mothers are supported.