We can't ignore this

It seems the only thing that the Queensland Government and Opposition can agree on is that women who seek abortions will continue to be treated like criminals.1

Any one of Queensland's 89 MPs can bring forth a private members bill to rid Queensland of the indefensible law that classifies abortion as an 'offence against morality'. As yet, not one of them has had the courage to - but that's where you come in.

We've created a TV ad that Queensland MPs can't ignore. If we can get this powerful ad blanketing Queensland TV, we can counter the power of the extreme minority who are in favour of sending women who have abortions to prison.

http://www.getup.org.au/campaign/ChoiceNotACrime



Section 225 of the Queensland Criminal Code ('Offenses Against Morality'): Any woman who, with intent to procure her own miscarriage, whether she is or is not with child, unlawfully administers to herself any poison or other noxious thing, or uses any force of any kind, or uses any other means whatever, or permits any such thing or means to be administered or used to her, is guilty of a crime, and is liable to imprisonment for 7 years.

We can perhaps understand the confused moralism of the legislators who penned this law in 1899. But how can we excuse the legislators who allow it to stand in 2010?

http://www.getup.org.au/campaign/ChoiceNotACrime

They can't ignore us when we stand together. They can't ignore us when we stand up for one another.

Thanks for all that you do,
The GetUp Team

P.S. Over 50,000 Australians signed the GetUp petition to overturn the law and paid for a huge ad on page 6 of The Australian yesterday. That has not been enough to move Queensland's Parliament into action. But we only need to touch one MP to get a bill into Parliament that can force change. Help put this ad on the air to make it happen.

1 'Abortion laws here to stay: Qld govt', The Sydney Morning Herald, 15 October 2010.