Volume 182 - Issue 2
Abortion: time to clarify Australia’s confusing laws
Authors: Lachlan J de Crespigny and Julian Savulescu
Med J Aust 2005; 182 (2): 94-95.
Published online: 17 January 2005
Published online: 17 January 2005
In reply: Reti is correct that the outcomes of the late abortion case probably resulted from multiple factors in addition to the justice system. A pivotal one was the decision to divulge confidential patient information before there had been a thorough internal review.
It is pleasing that hospitals are developing consistent guidelines, although, as we indicated in our article, these guidelines should not include responsibility for clinical decision-making by committee. The responsibility for clinical decision-making should reside with the doctor, and committees should have a purely advisory role.
Consistent national professional guidelines are needed. These could be a stimulus for law reform. Without reform, it is only a matter of time before a single complaint about a case leads to a similar succession of adverse outcomes.
Ewing writes that we “criticise legal and media attention given to the abortion”. We have no criticism of the media attention and would not presume to criticise the legal processes. Our criticism was of the “decision to expose the events to legal and media scrutiny”. That is, we criticised the decision to expose the case and those involved before a thorough internal review had been conducted. We support transparency and believe that secrecy in relation to medical procedures is contrary to public interest.
We agree with Ewing that public consultation must be sought before legislative change. But one thing is clear — abortion law reform is essential. It is unacceptable that, in some cases, such as the late-abortion case we described, doctors may be charged with an indictable offence whether they agree to perform the abortion or not — under the law on abortion or child destruction if they agree to abortion, or under the law of homicide by negligence if they refuse abortion and the patient subsequently commits suicide.