Cairns woman sent to Darwin for abortion
A CAIRNS woman is being sent to Darwin to have her abnormal foetus aborted because local doctors fear they will be jailed if they perform the operation here.
It is understood Queensland Health will foot the bill – tipped to be in the thousands – for the Cairns woman’s trip to Darwin.
A source told The Cairns Post the foetus to be aborted was so "significantly abnormal that it would not survive" if it were born.
And it emerges the woman is not an isolated case.
Queensland doctors have stopped performing medical and surgical abortions out of fear of prosecution stemming from recent charges brought against a young Cairns couple.
The arrests of Mt Sheridan mechanic Sergie Brennan, 21, and his girlfriend, Tegan Leach, 19, after they allegedly smuggled abortion drugs into Cairns from the Ukraine and used them to cause a miscarriage have sparked national debate on the need to decriminalise abortion in Queensland.
If convicted, they could face up to 14 years’ jail. Their fight against the charges has become a test case for activists across the country pushing for abortion to be removed from the state’s criminal code.
But, in the meantime, Queensland patients choosing to have an abortion will have to go interstate.
The woman being sent to Darwin is believed to be in her second trimester, between 13 and 20 weeks.
A hospital source said the abnormalities to the foetus were more severe than Down
syndrome.
The source said hospitals in New South Wales do not want to become "dumping grounds" for Queensland patients requiring abortions.
It is understood the director general of Queensland Health is yet to sign off on the interstate abortion request.
In a statement, Queensland Health last night confirmed that no medical abortions were
being carried out at Cairns Base Hospital.
"For those who go elsewhere, the cost of a procedure depends on what is involved," the statement said.
Queensland Health is also encouraging patients who require "specialist medical services that are not available in their local area" to apply for financial help with their transport and accommodation.
Another Cairns woman has come forward to speak of her situation, having found out her foetus had four severe abnormalities in September.
On advice and supported by hospital staff, she too had to consider an interstate abortion.
She told The Cairns Post that in the space of 24 hours, it was discussed that she would be referred to Darwin, then Brisbane, then additional referrals were made to New South Wales. She later decided to go privately to
Victoria because at 21 weeks, she did not have any time to lose.
Abortion laws in the news
- Couple to face abortion trial
- Case puts abortion in the dock
- Accused thought pills were legal
- Couple to face abortion trial
- Abortion laws to charge
- Abort committal, doctors say
- Pro-choice activists stage vigil
- Parliament rejects petition
- Murder hunt led to abortion pair
- Abortion drug use queried
- Abortion case date set
- Abortion case put off
- Court case sparks debate
- Doctors shelve abortion drug
- Doctors stop abortions
- On a legal knife's edge
Share this article
We can't do it: Women are being forced to have abortions interstate because doctors at Cairns Base Hospital are refusing to do the procedure out of fear of being prosecuted.
New Jetstar flights between Cairns and Osaka
THE re-introduction of Jetstar's four weekly direct services to Osaka in Japan and a doubling of flights to Melbourne from April 1 next year are the first significant announcements today by the airline as the result of a new agreement with Cairns Airport.
Kate earns National Pride Medal
INSPIRING young leader and cancer survivor Kate Smith could hardly believe she won a national Pride of Australia medal last night.
Escapee back in custody
BREAKING NEWS: Police have found a man who escaped from police custody at Ravenshoe on Sunday night.
Woman watched boyfriend bash, strip tourist
THE girlfriend of a man accused of raping and attempting to rape two foreign tourists at a Cairns caravan park says she watched him bash and strip one of them then chase after her.
