Pro-choice supporters are intensifying their campaign in the lead up to the abortion trial which begins in Cairns on October 12. The Saturday before the trial will see a national day of protest aimed at pressuring the Bligh government to have the charges dropped and repeal the anti-abortion laws.
Pro-Choice Action Collective activist, Kathy Newnam said “the Cairns couple should not be facing trial, because the laws under which they are being tried should not exist. Women have the right to control their own bodies.
“These charges are the most extreme attack on abortion rights for decades. In fact, it is the first time that a woman has been charged under Queensland’s anti-abortion laws.
“The Bligh government continues to claim that the case is related to the way the abortion allegedly took place. But the facts of the case demonstrate this to be untrue. The couple have been charged under the anti-abortion laws, not drug related laws. The drugs allegedly used are not banned in Australia.
“Worst of all, the Bligh government is lining up with the most conservative anti-abortion forces in their scaremongering about the abortion drug. The drugs allegedly used are not unsafe. In fact they are statistically safer than many other drugs that can be ordered on line.
“What is at stake in this case is a basic principle – a woman has the right to control her own body.
“That is why pro-choice supporters in Brisbane and around the country will rally on October 9 – to demand the dropping of the abortion charges and the repeal of the anti-abortion laws”.
The rallies that will be held as part of the national day of action will be:
* In Brisbane on Saturday October 9, 1pm in Queens Park (corner George & Elizabeth sts). Contact: Pro-Choice Action Collective – 0400 720 757 (Kathy), 0422 753 225 (Emma)
* In Sydney on October 9 at 12 noon at Town Hall. Contact: Women’s Abortion Action Campaign – 0407 665 857 (Margaret)
* In Melbourne on October 9 at 12 noon at Parliament House. Contact: Radical Women – 9388 0062.
* In Perth on October 8, 5:30pm at Murray St Mall. Contact: 0401 292 914 (Clare)
* In Cairns there will be a vigil held from 8am-6pm outside the Cairns Magistrates Court starting on Monday October 11 until the end of the trial.
Supporters of the national day of action include:
Anarchist Black Cross (Melbourne); Australian Services Union Central and Southern Queensland Clerical and Administrative Branch; Australian Women’s and Gender Studies Association; Australian Women’s Intra Network; Brisbane Rape and Incest Survivors Support Centre; Cairns Women’s Network; Campaign for Women’s Reproductive Rights (Melbourne); Children by Choice; Communist League; Community Legal Centres NSW; Construction, Forestry, Mining and Energy Union – Construction and General (NSW); Construction, Forestry, Mining and Energy Union (Victoria Branch); Council of Social Service of NSW; Electrical Trades Union (Queensland); Electrical Trades Union (Victoria); “F” Conference; Sydney (April 10-11,2010); Freedom Socialist Party; Geelong Trades Hall Council; Greenslopes Day Surgery; Isis- The Eating Issues Centre Inc.; Megaherzzz (Women’s radio program, 4ZZZfm); National Tertiary Education Union (Queensland); Network of Women Students Australia; Newcastle University Women’s Collective; NSW Council for Civil Liberties; Political Staff Workers Union; Local 1 (Seattle, Washington U.S.); ProChoice NSW; Queensland Council for Civil Liberties; QUT Women’s Collective; Revolutionary Socialist Party; ROAR Feminist Collective (Perth); Sisters Organise for Survival (Seattle, Washington U.S.); Socialist Alliance; Socialist Alternative; Solidarity; Southern Cross University Womens Collective (Lismore); Sydney University Postgraduate Representative Association (SUPRA); The Humanist Society of Queensland; Union of Australian Women; University of Melbourne Student Union Wom*n’s Action Collective; University of NSW Womyn’s Collective; Women’s Global Network for Reproductive Rights; Women’s Health NSW; Women’s House Shelta; Women’s Legal Services NSW; Wollongong University Student Association
For more information contact the Pro-Choice Action Collective – phone 0400 720 757 (Kathy).