Healthcare workers refused the right to act accoring to their consciences

The Victorian parliament voted against the right of healthcare workers not to participate in abortion or refer for abortion. [VicHansard 4245-4264]

A woman walks into a doctors office and asks for an abortion.  The doctor replies I don't perform abortions, you will have to go somewhere else.

Is this unreasonable?  The woman is not dying.  The doctor is not denying lifesaving treatment.  He or is simply telling the woman he does not perform the procedure she wants done. 

Victorian law requires doctors to perform the abortion themselves or refer to a doctor who will do it.  This law has prevented pro-life healthcare workers from being hired by the woman's hospital. "Dr Mark Durie, minister of St Mary's Caulfield, said staff were finding it hard to cope with a reported six-fold increase in late-term abortions at the Women's since abortion was decriminalised in Victoria two years ago. He said because conscientious objection by medical staff was now illegal, the hospital could employ only people who endorsed late-term abortions."[1]

What's the big deal you may ask?  The doctor is not forced to perform an abortion, just refer the patient on.  What right does a doctor have to impose his beliefs on a patient.  This sounds reasonable, but,  put another way we see that in forcing a doctor to refer the patient on the doctor becomes complicit in the abortion procedure, he becomes part of the process, and the life of the baby is on his conscience.

Is it really right to force a healthcare worker to be involved in abortion if it is again their beliefs?  Is it so hard for a woman to find a pro-choice doctor on her own?

Parliamentarians were given a conscience vote on the issue of abortion.  In this matter of life and death our law makers are released from party policy and given the option to vote according to their conscience.  And they voted that healthcare workers would not be allowed to exercise their consciences when dealing with matters of abortion.

Do you think healthcare workers should have the right to exercise their conscience in regards to abortion? 
Then let the politicians know:
http://www.lifevote.org.au/

Next Post: The Victorian parliament voted Against banning late-term and partial-birth abortion. [VicHansard 3498-3506]

No information about the risks

The Victorian parliament voted against providing information on the health risks of abortion. [VicHansard 3629-3631] 

Whenever a person undergoes a surgical procedure they have to give informed consent.  Whenever, that is, except for abortion.  What makes abortion so special that women are not required to be made aware of the risks and potential complications? A person cannot make a good decision if they do not know all the facts.

The risks of abortion include:

• Increased risk of breast cancer. http://www.lifenews.com/2010/10/23/nat-6787/
• Uterine perforation and damage to other organs surrounding the uterus.
• Retained products of conception (that is bits of the baby or placenta remain inside the woman's uterus).
• Excessive bleeding which can require surgery to repair.
• Uterine or pelvic infection.
• Fallopian Tube infection which can cause scarring and  infertility.
• Continued pregnancy (yep sometimes a baby gets left behind).
• Cervix is cut or damaged.  This can lead to miscarriage or premature birth if the cervix is no longer strong enough to stay closed the entire pregnancy.  The risk is greater after multiple abortions.
• Scarring of the uterine wall, this can make it harder for a future pregnancy to implant and increases the risk of placenta previa, where the placenta is over the cervix instead of at the top or sides of the uterus.
• Anaesthesia always carries risks including heart attack, convulsions and, rarely, death.
• If general anaesthesia is used it relaxes the uterus and make it easier to perforate.

Side effects of mifepristone/misoprostol include gastrointestinal discomfort (cramps, nausea and diarrhea) and dizziness, weakness, chills and headaches. 2 - 5 percent will either still be pregnant, have an incomplete abortion, or have excessive bleeding.  For these woman a surgical procedure will be needed to complete the abortion.  Because of the danger involved in an incomplete abortion it is vital that women are followed up to ensure the abortion was complete.

Many women suffer with emotional and psychological problems after experiencing abortion. Some of these problems are depression, acute feeling of grief and fear of disclosure, eating disorders, suicide tendencies, anxiety and also increased consumption of alcohol and drugs. "A large-scale, authoritative Scandinavian study establishes post-pregnancy death rates within one year that are nearly four times greater among women who abort their pregnancies than among women who bear their babies. The suicide rate is nearly six times greater among aborting women than among women who give birth." [1]

http://www.womenhealthzone.com/womens-reproductive-health/does-abortion-affect-your-health-know-about-abortion-risks/
http://www.realoptions.net/abortion_risks.html
http://www.smh.com.au/articles/2006/01/02/1136050394322.html
http://www.alternet.org/story/148491/10_facts_you_must_know_about_non-surgical_abortion


What is a doctors responsibility in regard to consent under normal consequences?

• "The concept of informed consent has been clarified and broadened by the Supreme Courts of the United States and Canada, as well as by courts in other western countries.
• The courts have ruled that doctors have a "continuing duty" to be familiar with up-to-date information about potential and developing risks of treatments or procedures in order to inform patients properly.
• The standard of disclosure has shifted to what a "reasonable or prudent" patient might want to know about a procedure, rather than what a "reasonable" doctor might disclose.
• Common but minor risks must be disclosed, while rare risks must be disclosed if the consequences are potentially serious or fatal.
• The doctor must also ensure that the patient has understood what he or she has been told.
• Doctors who fail to inform their patients about the documented risks associated with induced abortion may be liable to prosecution in the courts." [1]

Do you think women deserve to know the risks before having an abortion? 
Then let the politicians know:
http://www.lifevote.org.au/

Next Post: The Victorian parliament voted against the right of healthcare workers not to participate in abortion or refer for abortion. [VicHansard 4245-4264]

No support-counselling

The Victorian parliament voted against providing support-counselling for women. [VicHansard 3536-3550]

 I don't know how things work with marriage celebrants, but in the church my husband and I were required to attend pre-marriage counselling before we got married.  Before making a choice that would affect us for the rest of our lives they wanted us to explore all the issues and think about potential problems and solutions. 


The decision to have an abortion or keep the baby or put the baby up for adoption is a choice that effects women for the rest of their lives.  As they say about marriage "it is not a decision to be entered into lightly".  Good decisions take time.  All options need to be explored and pros and cons weighed up.   Women need access to caring, informed counsellors who can explore all the options, correct misconceptions and allow the woman to make a decision she is happy with.  Remember deciding to keep the baby or put the baby up for adoption can be changed.  Once an abortion is performed there is no going back.


Notice also the wording above.  It doesn't just say counselling.  It says support counselling.  Counselling that will support the woman to make a choice that she will be able to live with, that she will not regret, that is right for her not the pushers of the pro-life or pro-choice agenda.


Do you think women deserve support-counselling? 
Then let the politicians know:
http://www.lifevote.org.au/


Next Post:The Victorian parliament voted against providing information on the health risks of abortion. [VicHansard 3629-3631]

Abortion Law in Victoria

I will be working through this flyer point by point over the next weeks.  If you don't believe me the references are in the flyer and can be looked up on Hansard.  It's a matter of public record.

http://www.lifevote.org.au/lifevote_flyer.pdf

I will present Victorian abortion law to you and explain why I think these laws are both anti-life and anti-woman.

In October 2008, the Victorian parliament voted to make abortions legal,
right up to the day of birth.  Any woman can have an abortion for any reason up until 24 weeks gestation.  After that the procedure has to be agreed on by two doctors after taking into account the woman's medical, physical, psychological and social circumstances.

If a woman loses a baby naturally during a pregnancy this is known as a miscarriage up until 20 weeks gestation.  After 20 weeks a baby that dies in utero is termed stillborn.  A stillborn baby, that has never taken a breath, is counted as a person.  They are issued with a birth certificate stating they were stillborn.  They are counted as a birth in the births, deaths and marriages database.  A 20 week old baby that dies before birth is recognised by the Victorian government as a person.

And yet this same baby can be aborted, have it's life ended, for any reason and it is termed abortion not murder.  A baby that is viable or could survive if born is slightly more protected.  After 24 weeks a pre-term baby has a 50% chance of survival, at 27 weeks it is 80% and from 29 weeks >90%. (
http://birth.com.au/Premature-baby/Survival-of-preterm-babies-gestation.aspx?p=2).

In 2007 there were 345 late term abortions in Victoria.  49% of these were done for psychosocial reasons and the remainder were because of a genetic problem of the baby.  54 of these babies survived the abortion and went on to die post-natally. 

Since this law was introduced in 2008 the Royal Womans' Hospital as gone from performing 1 late term abortion per fortnight to 3 per week. That's a 600% increase (http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=6AeFdCG4gEg).


1 in 4 pregnancies are ended by abortion.  One quarter of our children are being killed in the womb.  Less than 4% of abortions reported as being for medical reasons and less than 1% are because of rape.  I find these statistic horrifying.  Do you?

Then let the politicians know:

http://www.lifevote.org.au/










Next Post: The Victorian parliament voted against providing support-counselling for women. [VicHansard 3536-3550]

Why pro-life; what about all the other needy people in the world?

I have decided to start by answering a question put by a commenter on a news article recently.

Why all the fuss over a clump of cells?  If you really cared about people you would be campaigning for those living, breathing, thinking feeling people dying every day around the world.

1. A fetus (young one, baby in the womb) is not a clump of cells any more than you or I are.  Our whole life experience can be boiled down to chemical and electrical signals being fired around our bodies.  A fetus might not have had time to build up the connections in the brain an adult has but an unborn baby is just as human as you or I, only smaller.

2. There are many, many worth causes in the world, many people in need, many lives being lost everyday but if I gave money to every cause I would be broke and each cause would get a pittance from me.  Instead my husband and I have decided how much money we will give and then decided the few place we think it will do the most good.  You may have different priorities and that is fine.  And just as my money only stretches so far, so does my time and energy.  Do you think Wilberforce campaigned for fifty different causes?  Or was he sold out to the one thing that mattered most to him?  I have a feeling those who have changed the world are the ones that ate, slept, and breathed their cause not the ones that gave a token acknowledgement to being for or against.

3. I believe I can make a difference.  Right now we are six weeks from a state election.  The policies of the current government are on trial.  Will we reinstate the ones who legislated for abortion up until birth with no protection for babies or women?  Or will we say no to this legislation and vote for candidates who respect life and respect women?  So for the next 6 weeks at least I will be doing all I can to make sure people who will overturn the 2008 abortion laws are in power after the election.

Do you know what the current law is?  Do you know who voted for and against it?  Do you know why I think these laws are not only anti-life but also anti-women?  Follow me as I explore the issues and make an informed choice this November.