Attitudes to abortion: Australia and Queensland in the 21st century

A young couple in Queensland face charges of procuring the woman's abortion with the drugs RU486 and Misoprostol. The case provoked widespread doubts about the legality of abortion in Queensland, especially medical abortion. State politicians, even those claiming to be pro-choice, are reluctant to decriminalise abortion saying that such a move would cost votes or might lead to an even more restrictive position than that which now prevails. In fact more than half the electorate in Australia and in Queensland support freedom of choice, and a further third support the availability of abortion in special circumstances. Candidates for election to the federal parliament are even more liberal. Such opposition as there is is concentrated among a few religious groups and among people aged 75 and over. As far as attitudes are concerned, Queensland is no different from the rest of Australia. A May 2009 Auspoll found that 79 per cent of Queenslanders supported decriminalisation.