Liberals betrayal on access to safe reproductive health continues

Tasmanian Labor

The Gutwein Government's dangerous ideology on reproductive health has seen access to safe terminations continue to be denied to Tasmanian women.

Shadow Health Minister Dr Bastian Seidel said the Liberals had promised to deliver access to terminations three years ago but had utterly failed and continued to release only confusing information for Tasmanian women.

"Two Health Ministers and three years ago, the Liberals promised to deliver and they simply have not," Dr Seidel said.

"With Michael Ferguson as Health Minister the promise was broken. His successor Sarah Courtney followed suit.

"The only way to access a safe, low cost termination in Tasmania is because we are fortunate to have some private obstetricians who work with organisations like Women's Health Tasmania and Family Planning Tasmania.

"These organisations go above and beyond to ensure people have the transport, the funding and access to legal health procedures.

"But the government continues to utterly fail.

"It's now been more than three years since Tasmania's only dedicated termination clinic in Hobart closed and this government doesn't care about safe reproductive health, it never has.

"The fact is Tasmania has some of the best rights to terminations, but still some of the worst access, because the Liberal Government has made it wilfully, unnecessarily difficult to gain that access.

"That's solely and largely because of the personal beliefs of key members of the Gutwein Cabinet.

"It's now up to new Health Minister Jeremy Rockliff.

"Will he deliver or will he follow in the shameful footsteps of failed Health Ministers Ferguson and Courtney?"

Dr Bastian Seidel MLC

Shadow Minister for Health, Mental Health and Wellbeing

/Public Release. This material from the originating organization/author(s) might be of the point-in-time nature, and edited for clarity, style and length. Mirage.News does not take institutional positions or sides, and all views, positions, and conclusions expressed herein are solely those of the author(s).View in full here.