No consensus to change Queensland abortion law, but strong support for safeguards for women

Now of course the extent of this swing would be dependent on the effectiveness of a pro-life campaign to remind voters of this issue at election time.

A modest education campaign which consisted of pro-life flyers letterboxed by Voters for Life contributed to an average swing of 2.9% against the pro-abortion MPs in Aspley and Algester over and above the statewide swing against the ALP Government at the 2009 Queensland state election.

A similar flyer letterboxed in three Queensland seats (Bonner, Hinkler and Dickson) at the 2010 federal election contributed to an average swing of 2.09% against the pro-abortion ALP candidates over and above the average statewide swing to the Coalition.

When voters are informed at election time that their member of parliament supports abortion for any reason until birth - a position this poll shows only 7% of Queenslanders are comfortable with - it is not at all surprising that this should produce a swing against them.

So fellow On Line Opinion writer Helen Pringle has engaged in wishful thinking in her attempt to downplay abortion as a potential election issue (see Abortion: Don't Blame the Voters).

With 14,000 abortions performed every year in Queensland, abortion is obviously accessible for those women who seek it.

To those who advocate the removal of all restrictions, I would ask: How many abortions are enough?

The main message of this research to Queensland parliamentarians is that instead of pushing for decriminalisation, they should introduce safeguards and support services for women which would reduce the number of unwanted abortions and the consequent harm to women and families.

Women deserve better than abortion.