Late Term Abortion is regarded to be the termination of pregnancy from a gestation period of about 20 to 24 weeks and beyond whereby the fetus is said to be viable. Australia has been faced by issues surrounding this abortion procedure and the available statistics are alarming.
Australia partake late term abortion as illegal though there have been women who have gone ahead and practiced it. Mothers are therefore forced to seek other places and regions if they want to conduct the procedure. Those who do not have financial strength are forced to either keep the fetus until birth or undertake dangerous and crude methods to abort.
Politics in Australia have highly neglected this issue since members of parliament believe if they come out and take a stand in regard to late term abortions and abortion procedure in general, he or she will loose votes.
The ground in which abortion is tolerable in Australia differ depending on the state one is in though what is common in all states is that if the procedure is conducted to safeguard the mothers' health and life, it is allowed. The difference is widely seen even in areas such as seeking consent. In Western Australia, a minor does require consent from the parents in regard to abortion.
In the 1901 era, abortion was termed illegal with no exemptions. Later in the 1960s and early 1970s, exemptions arose in regard to mothers' health preservation. Over time other issues that warrant abortion procedure to be undertaken have been put forth like mental stability of the mother and physical condition of the fetus.
RU486, which was widely used in the country, had been banned but this changed in 2006. Abortifacients were considered restricted drugs that were banned in the country though approval from the ministry of health would have created permission in their regard.
States like Queensland permit late term abortion procedures but others like South Australia, New South Wales and Northern Territory do not consider late term abortion not unless it is for the woman's health or mental fitness. Limits are put as to the gestation period when termination can be allowed.
Abortion was legalized in Western Australia in May 19998 and it had certain justification in consideration of late term abortion which were; 2 medical practitioners who were from a team of six doctors selected by the minister of health have observed and agreed that it is of great importance to conduct the abortion procedure even if it is past 20 weeks gestation and secondly the procedure be done in a facility permitted by the minister. King Edward Memorial Hospital happens to be only clinic permitted to conduct these procedures.
This acted in a way to hinder late term abortion practices though at times it was considered wise for a woman to obtain it. All in all, Australia continues to overlook the advantages that late term abortion has especially to the mother. Just as a coin has two sides, late term abortion has it pros.
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