A PETITION signed by more than 800 Cairns residents supporting abortion law reform has been thrown out of State Parliament.
The Speaker of the House Mike Reynolds ruled the petition, collected by the Cairns Women’s Network in June, "sub judice and ineligible for tabling" until an abortion case before the courts in the Far North is resolved.
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A two-day committal hearing has been set down for September 3 and 4 in Cairns Magistrates’ Court to hear charges against a woman and her partner.
Dr Carole Ford of the network said the group was disappointed with the Speaker’s decision.
Dr Ford said 840 people signed the petition in good faith for their voices to be heard.
"A number of politicians and legal people said it was OK. You can’t challenge the Speaker’s decision and it was final.
"We also noted that two days after our petition was refused that Parliament accepted an anti-choice petition which called on members of the Legislative Assembly to refuse any legislation, such as that recently passed in Victoria, decriminalising abortion and that only received 61 signatures.
"We are not going to go away."
The petition was presented to Parliament by Barron River MP Steve Wettenhall.
Pro Choice Queensland has launched an online e-petition on the government's website.
It seeks to repeal Sections 224, 225 and 226 of the Criminal Code to ensure that termination of pregnancy is no longer subject to criminal law.
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