Put yourself in someone else's shoes

Liz is a long time Darwin resident. As I tell her about On Her Terms, she reveals that she has had 2 terminations of pregnancy, both over 20 years ago.

Terminations of pregnancy can be required for a variety of reasons, which are often beyond the control of the woman affected. This is certainly the case for Liz, who was using contraception on both occasions: “At the time of the first termination I had an IUD in place and for the second I was using condoms. Unplanned pregnancies can happen even if precautions are taken and I was very grateful that the health system gave me quick and easy access to a hospital termination.”

While Liz had good access to a termination, and felt well supported at the time, it would not have been her choice to have a surgical termination of pregnancy if an alternative was available: “It would be much easier if I didn’t have to undergo surgery for my terminations as general anaesthetics can be dangerous. If at the time I had my terminations there was access to a non-surgical termination I would have chosen that. It should be as easy and safe as possible to have a termination”.

Liz expresses her disbelief at why people would not support the proposed changes to the NT Medical Services Act, including broadening of access to RU486. She remarks that it would be less costly, and safer.

For those who don’t support the proposed changes, Liz would say: “Put yourself in the shoes of the person making the decision and don’t judge their actions. People are fundamentally good.”

If you don’t like abortions, don’t get one.

Since 2010 I’ve been aware of the concerning laws here in the Northern Territory. It’s very frustrating that so many people are concerned about making positive change for NT women.
I was first informed about the much needed law reform through the national political party, The Australian Sex Party. The policies around abortion law are:

1. To enact national pregnancy termination laws along the same lines as divorce law — which allow for legal, no-fault and guilt-free processes for women seeking termination

2. Uniform abortion laws across Australia.

3. Full decriminalisation of abortion – removal from criminal statutes.

4. Abortion to be treated as a medical matter not a criminal matter.

5. All abortion providers to have authority to prescribe Mifepristone (RU486).

6. Medicare funding for abortion at all stages of pregnancy.

7. An abortion may be performed at any time with the consent of the woman and if a medical practitioner certifies that it is appropriate under the circumstances.

8. Minors (under the age of 16) may obtain an abortion without the consent of a parent/guardian.

9. Ensure abortion is a part of sex education in schools.
https://www.sexparty.org.au/federal-health-policy.html

These polices seemed so reasonable, even common sense, it really offended me that this was not standard law throughout Australia.  The separation between church and the state really needs to finally happen.

If you don’t like abortions, don’t get one.

If you don’t like gay marriage, don’t marry someone from the same sex.

It’s simply so women can have basic civil liberties and have a choice. My body, my business.

It would be heartbreaking for a women to have an unwanted child, a child from a perpetrator or simply because she couldn’t afford to travel to a hospital.

We should demand equality and reasonable laws for women and medical staff to work within.

Why is medical termination available in every State in Australia but not the Northern Territory?

Seranna Shutt - August, 2015

Palmerston, NT

When I am ready.

For more years than I can remember, I have wanted children.  I have craved to have a full, big, protruding belly like the women I so often pass in the street.  I feel the organs deep inside me tingle when I see a newborn, or hear the cry of a hungry bub.  I know I was made to do this, and I will.

When I am ready.

At the age of 19 I had a big scare.  It was highly probable that I was pregnant, luckily to someone I was very much in love with.  He promised to stick by me no matter what, but admitted he was not ready for parenthood.  I found this funny, because he was quite a bit older than me.  I was the one who shouldn’t have been ready.  But when I saw the result – negative – I couldn’t help but feel completely hollow inside.  

I had, however, considered what I might do if the result had been in the affirmative.

‘Can I do this?  Can I really be a mum, when I have so much to do in my life before I am ready?’  I asked myself many questions in those few minutes as we waited, cuddling each other in the kitchen.  ‘I don’t think I can do it; I’m far too young’, my reasonable and logical voice was the stronger one.  But the very thought of that horrific surgical procedure made my stomach churn, and I ran into the bathroom to be sick.

It was all I wanted, to have a little human growing inside me.  But on my terms.  I cannot imagine how I might have been affected at the time, had an alternative choice been available.  My fear of that invasive surgery was palpable.  I was adamant that I simply could not undergo such a procedure that would damage my ingrained desire to be a mother, and quite possibly damage the important organs required to become so.

I cried with grief that I was not pregnant… and yet I cried with gratitude that I did not have to face that procedure.  To this day I am thankful for that experience.

Having to make such a choice can be excruciating – when not just your own body do you think of, but the possibility of another forming within you.  It is made even harder by lawmakers – mostly middle-aged, white men – who will never in their lives know what it means to really struggle with that choice.  They will never know the emotions, sensations, fears and insecurities that come from that first missed period, nor will they ever understand what it feels like to be pregnant.  Yet this has all been left in their hands.  

Why are the whistle-blowers and decision-makers responsible for my body in this regard?  Why am I simply not allowed to face that decision again if I have a change of heart, or a medical condition, or an abusive partner?  Why do I still have visions of lying on a table?  They still make me sick to my stomach.

Why have I found myself right back at the beginning, asking myself so many questions?

Equal access for all.

Having an abortion is an experience that no one would wish upon another woman. I have not had to do it, nor do I ever hope to. Sometimes though, personal circumstances mean that we have to make tough decisions, and I feel absolute empathy for women who, for whatever reason, are not in a position to be able to raise a child with the love and care that it needs and choose to have an abortion. Above all, I believe that women have a right to decide what happens to their bodies.

Several months ago it came to my attention that women living in the Northern Territory are, compared to women living in the rest of Australia, limited in their right to make reproductive choices. This outrages me. Whether or not ones' personal values agree with abortion or not, all should agree that we should not have lesser degree of freedom to make choices about our body just because of where we live.

I am a resident of the Northern Territory. I am also a woman. I should have the right to the same health services that all other women in Australia have access to.

Cat Street - August, 2015

 

 

Beyond disbelief.

I was pretty shocked when I found out that medical termination of pregnancy is not available in the Northern Territory. Given that it is legal to terminate a pregnancy in Australia, I made the assumption that all women in Australia have equal access to reproductive health services. I was incorrect. But why is medical termination available in every State in Australia but not the Northern Territory?

The outdated Northern Territory Medical Services Act dictates the suitability of who can have a termination, where it is undertaken and how it is performed. The Act does not permit medical termination of pregnancy in the NT.  This means that if I needed a termination, my only option is to have an operation in the hospital, rather than swallow a pill. If I had a choice, I would choose the non-invasive method without a doubt. However I, like all the other women living in the NT, don’t have a choice.

The Act requires appropriate revisions that are aligned with the health needs of women in 2015 and beyond. This includes making amendments to broaden access to the drug RU486 for medical termination of pregnancy.

Women in the Northern Territory already face numerous barriers to health care due to the remoteness of our location. So why is there yet another barrier placed on our health? This isn’t acceptable. Let’s encourage our politicians to revise the NT Medical Services Act and make medical termination of pregnancy accessible to women in the NT. #OnHerTerms

 

Karen Hobday, August 2015

 

 

Unpacking 'On Her Terms'.

On Her Terms

On Her Terms is a Territory wide campaign that aims to inform all Territorians about matters relating to the Northern Territory (NT) Medical Services Act, particularly in relation to termination of pregnancy and the broadening of access to the abortion drug RU486. On Her Terms is advocating for changes to the NT Medical Services Act to allow doctors to legally prescribe RU486 for the termination of pregnancy. To achieve this aim On Her Terms uses an online presence through social and digital media, as well as community engagement and education, and political lobbying.

NT Medical Services Act

Under current NT legislation, the termination of pregnancy can only be done surgically, in a hospital and with a specialist doctor. Two doctors must agree that a termination of pregnancy procedure is needed. This law is linked to the Criminal Code.

Definition

Termination of pregnancy, also referred to as abortion, is very common. Around 1,000 women end their pregnancies every year in the NT and about 4,000 babies are born.

Surgical termination of pregnancy is commonly provided up to 12 weeks gestation, performed in a hospital and usually requires a general anaesthetic.

Medical termination of pregnancy can be provided up to 9 weeks gestation. A woman is required to see a health care provider who examines her. If the procedure is considered necessary, the woman is counselled, and given the medical pills called RU486 (mifepristone and misoprostol). This drug has been available in other countries, including France, Sweden and the United Kingdom, for more than 20 years. RU486 has been on the pharmaceutical benefit scheme since 2013. It is also on the World Health Organization’s list of ‘Essential Medicines’.

Our response

On Her Terms believes the current NT Medical Services Act is outdated. RU486 has been available in Australia since 2006. The NT is the only jurisdiction in Australia where it is illegal to prescribe RU486 for termination of pregnancy.

The current alternative to RU486 is surgical termination of pregnancy, which must be performed in a hospital in Darwin or Alice Springs. This restricts access for 1 in 4 NT women who live outside of these regions. It also unfairly impacts on Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander women who are more likely to live in remote parts of the Northern Territory.

On Her Terms believes that accredited doctors, including General Practitioners, are better placed to provide the comprehensive care required for women who choose to terminate their pregnancy, through the provision of accessible, timely and non-threatening health care.

Recommendations

1. That all reference to termination of pregnancy or abortion in any form be removed from the Criminal Code Act.

2. That the Medical Services Act be amended to clarify that medical termination of pregnancy, including RU486, can be administered by appropriately qualified medical practitioners (including accredited general practitioners) in the Northern Territory, including outside of a hospital setting.

3. That the laws be amended so that a minor’s capacity to give consent be assessed by an appropriately qualified medical practitioner and if capable, give consent for termination. If deemed incapable of providing such consent only one person having authority in law be sufficient to provide consent on behalf of the minor.

4. That the laws be amended to ensure doctors who have a conscientious objection to termination refer a woman to a medical practitioner who does not hold such an objection as soon as practicable.

5. That the Medical Services Act be amended to only require the approval of one medical practitioner to approve termination of pregnancy up to the first 14 weeks of pregnancy and a woman should not be required to justify that termination is necessary to prevent physical and mental harm to herself

Webbed feet and feathered wings protruded from a sack of pale white skin. There was another one not very far off. They were small and huddled into themselves. There was something about the image of those little birds lying lifeless on the nature strip that burned itself into my mind. A fly was buzzing around one of the carcasses.

It was 2008 and I had been working for Maxine Morand, Minister for Women’s Affairs in the Victorian State Government. My colleagues and I watched as hundreds of anti abortion letters poured in.

Many were clearly upset about Maxine’s decision to champion a Bill which recommended the removal of abortion from the Victorian Crimes Act. Previously under Section 65 of the Victorian Crimes Act (1958), a woman who had an abortion was liable to between five and ten years imprisonment, while a medical practitioner who provides an abortion could have been jailed for up to five years.

I remember accompanying Maxine to a meeting with her local constituents. One of the issues raised was about brochures some of those present at the function had received at home. The brochures contained graphic images of dead foetuses.

Campaigns often reach for an effect, maybe even a shock affect. In this case, those explicit images had been forced upon unsuspecting private individuals and their families. Individuals and their family members who after a long day, may have preferred no to come home to a pamphlet with dominantly placed image of the remains of an aborted birth. A pregnant mother who at the age of thirty four waits anxiously for the life growing within her to be born alive and healthy; a group of primary school kids who had been asked to go and get the mail; a woman who only a few months ago had tragically experienced a late term miscarriage.

I found a shovel perfect for the job. I gently wedged it underneath the remains of the little birds, and I carried them across to our backyard and dropped them gently into a grave.

I thought about the people who had sent out those materials. Had they been affected by the images of foetuses just as I had been affected by the carcasses I was about to bury? Did those images confirm or strengthen their faith and beliefs? In direct mailing hundreds of homes in the electorate materials containing such graphic images were they hoping to stun families into supporting their cause?
The hard hitting realities that underpin ethical dilemmas are not things we can bury with campaign slogans, graphic and shocking images, or metaphorically cover with dirt in one’s backyard. We often approach dilemmas with the knowledge of what matters to us most. The health and wellbeing of women in circumstances I could never imagine, mattered to me. The rights of those women to access safely and legally a health service, is a right that mattered to me.

I was there that day, when I saw Maxine do what she had faith in was right, and not what was convenient. I was there when her religiously conservative electorate voted her out. I was there when Minister Morand voted in a Bill that abolished common law offences relating to abortion and furthered the protection of women’s rights. I hope to be there again, when the Northern Territory Parliament does what is needed to be done to bring the Territory up to speed with the rest of Australia, and much of the developed world, where the health and rights of Territory women are concerned.

Shankar Kasynathan

August 2015