The pair of young fools referred to in this article had ample opportunity to seek a legal termination and being in a large regional city, the resources were readily available. Instead they chose a 'backyard abortion' arranging the illegal importation of medication that was used without medical supervision. Then they failed to dispose of packaging and other 'evidence' several months down the track. STUPID, IRRESPONSIBLE & LAZY too it seems.

I do agree with the Author however that prosecuting this pair is a waste of Public money. They have undoubtedly done the gene pool a favour as well as the social welfare system. Leave them alone I say - with a heap of info about contraception options and where to access them ....

Seriously, even though the concept of "Abortion on demand" is somewhat confronting to me, the last thing I would consider is dictating to any woman that she should bear a totally unwanted pregnancy. Reluctant mothers are hardly going to be good mothers and the 'social stigma' of adopting out an accidental baby is probably greater than that of being a solo mum - or at least that is the impression todays "Social Workers" give.

Yes - abortion should be decriminalised and laws pertaining be made Federal. This business about being legal here and illegal over there is patently stupid and undoubtedly costing all States to administer

It is interesting that Elizabeth Mathews appears to have no problems with the Queensland law that says that a person who is found guilty of assaulting a pregnant woman and killing her unborn child can be penalised with life imprisonment. (s 313 (2) of the Qld Criminal Code)

In our present society it seems that many people have the view that if an unborn child is wanted, but killed against the mother’s wishes, then the child should be regarded as having the same value as born people. But if the unborn child is not wanted by the mother then the child can be treated as so much junk and can be killed and thrown away. This is the grossest of discriminations.

The value of any human life cannot depend on whether that person is merely wanted or not.

Mathews calls for the decriminalisation of abortion in Queensland – that would mean abortion being allowed up until birth for any reason.
No wonder the politicians don’t want to go down that path.

The fact is, no one need fear criminal charges for abortion if no one ends the life of unborn babies by abortion.

Elizabeth writes

'On the other hand, all that the criminalisation of abortion does is to force frightened women into dangerous situations, which could ruin their lives forever'

The same arguement could be used for the criminalisation of murder or rape. Abortion is the murder of a child like it or not. The problem is not with the law but with the acceptance of lies propagated by people whose consciences have been severely burnt.

Again never any thought for the child just the selfish woman.

The debate about the legalisation of abortion has never been about protecting women from "criminalisation". This article is about legalising baby killing in Qld. This is just another hoary old chestnut used by pro aborts as they have used similar hoary old chestnuts as strategy for legalising abortion in WA, Tas. and VIC. Anyone could write the protocol for their campaigns, so blatant have their tactics become. In ten years of nursing in a Womens Prison I did not encounter one woman there serving a sentence for seeking or having an abortion. There were women there serving sentences for killing their born children...after having a doctor kill their unborn children. The women "did the time" while the doctors no doubt used the proceeds to "sun themselves in the south of France"! Not that abortionists should have been in that prison. They would have corrupted the other prisoners. We should build special prisons for abortionists to prevent this happening.

Ms Matthews tries to get away with claiming laws against abortion
(why ever would a civilized society NOT have laws against baby killing?) don't decrease abortion rates. Try saying that in the UK!
In England and Wales 22,000 abortions were performed in 1968, the first year they were legal. In 2006, 193,700 abortions were performed.
And that paid maternity leave, better support for school age mums,eliminating the stigma of single motherhood, increased sex education and access to contraception would do more to reduce the abortion rate than prohibiting abortion. All of this HAS happened over the past 40 years... and the result has been the exact opposite! Never has an old adage like 'the law is a good teacher' been more relevant.

JP, emotional language is not going to do it for you. I see no
evidence that in this case, either a child or a baby were involved.

If chemical abortion was used, then it would have been relatively
early in the pregnancy, a fetus is a long way from being a baby
or a child.

The days of the holy zygote are well beyond us.

Yabby, As Dr Suess famously said: "A person's a person no matter how small"! Your contention "If chemical abortion was used, then it would have been relatively early in the pregnancy, a fetus is a long way from being a baby or a child.The days of the holy zygote are well beyond us" flies in the face of reason viz that if a chemical abortion had been used on you when you were a zygote, you simply would not be here now! Whoof! No little Yabby! Human life is a continuum...there's no turning back once it has been set in motion. Just be glad... with the rest of us...that your mother didn't allow RU486 to be used on you...and mourn with us the denial of life to so many of our fellow human beings. As John Donne equally famously said: "No man is an island to himself. Every man's death diminishes me. Ask not for whom the bell tolls. It tolls for thee"!