QUEENSLAND babies that survive late-term abortions are legally left to die by the doctors and midwives who deliver them.
Traeger MP Robbie Katter introduced the Babies Born Alive Bill earlier this year to protect these newborns under the law.
But a parliamentary committee recommended the government reject the Bill this week.
Under the current law, there is no obligation on health practitioners to provide care to unwanted, though otherwise healthy babies.
From 2018 to 2022, 161 Queensland babies past the 20 week mark were abandoned to die after surviving their abortion.
If you include babies born alive after abortion who are younger than 20 weeks, the number of abandonments leading to neonatal deaths expands to more than 200.
Midwife Louisa Adsett revealed to a Queensland parliamentary inquiry that these babies were then taken to separate rooms to die.
She said it could take hours for the abandoned newborns to die.
The Babies Born Alive Bill would have legislatively protected unwanted infants, similar to laws in other states across Australia.
Though with the committee’s recommendation there are no signs the Miles government will change their views.
Cherish Life executive officer Matthew Cliff said the decision was deeply saddening.
“Here is the real issue – this report confirms once again, in Queensland we have different guidelines and laws based on whether a child is wanted or unwanted,” Mr Cliff said.
Mr Cliff said the ambiguity of the recommendation was alarmining.
He said it demonstrated a “desperate lack of real empirical evidence”.
The recommendation mentions “some health practitioners” being reluctant to provide abortions because of the requirement to provide care to babies who survive.
Mr Cliff wanted to know the specifics – who these practitioners were, how many raised this opposition and why.
The recommendation also said the duty to care for babies who survived abortions would “disproportionately impact women for whom access to health services is already challenging,” something Mr Cliff said was equally vague and uncompelling, especially considering what was at stake for these infants.
“Pragmatically, surely it is better to pass the Bill and then quantify this later rather than risk putting hundreds of babies through immense distress and trauma in the final stages of their life,” he said.
Queensland Australian Christian Lobby director Rob Norman echoed the sentiment.
“The Committee’s recommendation is full of sidestepping and deflection from the real issue at hand,” Mr Norman said.
He said the committee “deceptively conflated women’s access to abortion with the provision of best practice care for all babies born alive”.
“It is encouraging that the inquiry seems to have prompted Queensland Health to change their guidelines, for the second time in twelve months, to bolster care for babies born alive,” he said.
“However, without real legislative accountability, Queensland Health can just as easily modify its guidelines in an adverse way”.
Mr Katter’s Babies Born Alive Bill was the result of months of campaigning, popular support and hours of parliamentary hearings and evidence, urging the government to prevent the infanticide.
The total number of babies left to die in Australia is unknown due to states and territories being unwilling to produce annual figures.
