Ethical Issues In Australia's Abortion Debate

A contemporary ethical issue within Australia is Abortion. The topic of Abortion is a regularly discussed topic due to the two different opinions which are the Catholic Church perspective and the Australian Secular perspective. The Catholic Church perspective believes that abortion is wrong no matter what the circumstance. The Australian secular view believes that the mother and father should have the freedom to decide for themselves and that Abortion is acceptable in some situations. This essay explores the different opinions and reasonings from both perspectives.

Abortion is the deliberate termination of a human pregnancy, there are many different views on why this is or is not wrong. The 2003 Australian Survey of Social Attitudes found

In Victoria it is legal to have an Abortion up to 24 weeks, post-24 weeks you need two Doctors approval. This is the same for Tasmania but they only allow 16 weeks not 24. In South Australia Abortion is legal if two Doctors agree that the mother’s physical health is in danger or that the fetus could be born with serious defects. Western Australia's law states that Abortion is legal up to 20 weeks, some restrictions apply especially for under 16’s. The law regarding Abortion in the ACT is legal if provided by a medical Doctor.The Northern Territory law states that Abortion is legal up to 14 weeks with one Doctors approval, the time between 14-23 weeks you need to have two Doctors approval and after the 23 weeks it is illegal unless the baby is aborted to save a pregnant person's life. Abortion was illegal in Queensland however there was changes made to the QLD law in 2009, abortion is now legal in Queensland but only if the mother who wishes to terminate her baby is in serious risk of physical or mental health. In some states across the country such as Victoria, Tasmania and the Northern Territory it is illegal to protest within 150 meters of an abortion service. This is due to the violation of privacy for the mothers going to get an abortion. Some protesters

However they believe that everyone deserves equal freedom including the embryo because they are still a growing human being, therefore they deserve the right to life as much as the rest of the human race does. Catholics believe that God will bless you with the gift of a child in the right time and you should not take that for granted by terminating the baby.Catholics have always believed that abortion is the wrong thing to do and that a child is a blessing. However Pope Francis has recently gave other priests and bishops the power to forgive abortions as he wants to build a more forgiving and inclusive roman catholic church. He says “I resate as firmly as I can that abortion is a grave sin, since it puts an end to an innocent life" but "there is no sin that God's mercy cannot reach and wipe away when it finds a repentant heart seeking to be reconciled with God”. This demonstrates that the catholic church believe Abortion is wrong but they are becoming more accepting of the mothers that chose to make this hard decision for themselves.

Conclusion
Abortion is legal in Australia although the Australian Catholic church are firmly against abortion and believe it is an awful sin that should never be committed. However majority of the Australian secular perspective are more accepting of women who chose to have an abortion