No more excuses. It"s time to change abortion laws in NSW and Queensland | Anna Livsey

Abortion laws in Queensland and New South Wales suck and right now is the time to change them. A survey this week found that Australians overwhelmingly believe that women should have unqualified access to abortion.

The Australian Electoral Study has been taken each election since 1969 by the Australian National University and this year found, among other things, that 65% of Australians believe women should be able to obtain an abortion readily when they want one, 26% believe women should be able to obtain an abortion only in special circumstances and 4% believe that a woman should not be able obtain an abortion under any circumstances.

This is the highest level of support ever.

But despite that, access to the procedure is severely restricted for women in Queensland and New South Wales, particularly poor women and those living in rural areas.

Say you live in Queensland, but outside the south-east corner. Your options for a surgical abortion look like this (the clinics that provide surgical abortions are marked in red).

Map based on Children by Choice’s list of Queensland abortion providers

As you can see, outside of the south-east corner of the state there are only two clinics that provide them. And to make matters worse, these clinics will close in February due to a lack of funding. This leaves women in central, far north or western Queensland having to travel hundreds, if not thousands, of kilometres to obtain an abortion, which can end up costing more than $ 1,000.

The situation is so dire in Queensland that one of the state’s leading pro-choice groups, Children by Choice, crowdfunds abortions. Last year the organisation raised more than $ 90,000 via grants, donations, and no-interest loans for clients who needed financial assistance. They also seek funds for individual cases via their Facebook page.

In New South Wales, women face a similar lack of options, with abortion providers concentrated in coastal areas and procedures almost exclusively performed in private clinics.

This situation exists in large part because of both states’ antiquated, regressive and now patently out of touch abortion laws, which criminalise the procedure except under certain circumstances.

These laws do not prevent abortions from happening though. It is widely accepted that between 10,000 and 14,000 take place in Queensland every year. The laws merely make life more difficult for women, particularly for those who already face disadvantage due to where they live, their socio-economic status and what kind of relationship they are in.

However, the wheels are in motion for things to change.

Currently there are bills before both the Queensland and NSW parliaments that seek to decriminalise the procedure, and in the case of New South Wales, enforce exclusion zones around abortion clinics so that anti-choice protesters cannot accost people at their entrances.

There has been a lot of pushback against the two proposals. See the submissions to the inquiry into MP Rob Pyne’s abortion law reform bill in Queensland for a taste. But the proposed changes are not extreme. They would put Queensland and New South Wales abortion law in line with the rest of Australia and with most European countries.

And change is possible. In the past two decades abortion has been decriminalised in Tasmania, Victoria and the ACT and just this year in Poland a popular protest prevented regressive abortion laws from being enacted by the country’s conservative government.

Changing the current laws is a step towards affording women in Queensland and New South Wales the same dignity, respect and access to safe options that many women around Australia, and the world, already enjoy.

And if the wishes, health, safety and bodily autonomy of women seeking abortions are not enough, the changes would now also reflect the wishes of the overwhelming majority of Australians.

No more excuses. It"s time to change abortion laws in NSW and Queensland | Anna Livsey

Exotic, possibly deadly Asian tiger mosquito detected in north Queensland

An exotic mosquito that has the prospective to spread deadly diseases has been detected in north Queensland.

The grownup Asian tiger mosquito was collected in a schedule monitoring trap at Cairns port late last week and is believed to have arrived on an worldwide vessel.

The Asian tiger mosquito can bite dozens of instances a minute. It is capable of spreading conditions such as chikungunya virus, Ross River virus, dengue and yellow fever.

Associated: Vicious mosquito heads to Australia, its bite loaded with dengue fever

Although it is nevertheless to create itself on the mainland, populations have existed in the Torres Strait Islands for about a decade.

Mosquito researcher Nigel Beebe stated the tiger mosquito was generating a “world domination” move.

“We really do not want that thing right here, we are attempting quite difficult to hold it out,” he said on Tuesday.

“Modelling has suggested it will go as far as Melbourne and Adelaide. We contact it the barbecue buster and individuals will truly dislike it since it will hammer them.”

Authorities acted swiftly to destroy any other grownup mosquitoes that might have entered Cairns port.

A Division of Agriculture spokeswoman said prospective breeding and resting internet sites had been treated with a residual insecticide and fogging had been undertaken.

Added mosquito traps had been deployed and have been becoming monitored everyday.

“There have been no further Asian tiger mosquitoes detected,” the spokeswoman explained.

Exotic, possibly deadly Asian tiger mosquito detected in north Queensland

Exotic, probably deadly Asian tiger mosquito detected in north Queensland

An exotic mosquito that has the potential to spread deadly ailments has been detected in north Queensland.

The adult Asian tiger mosquito was collected in a schedule monitoring trap at Cairns port late last week and is believed to have arrived on an global vessel.

The Asian tiger mosquito can bite dozens of times a minute. It is capable of spreading conditions this kind of as chikungunya virus, Ross River virus, dengue and yellow fever.

Related: Vicious mosquito heads to Australia, its bite loaded with dengue fever

Even though it is yet to set up itself on the mainland, populations have existed in the Torres Strait Islands for about a decade.

Mosquito researcher Nigel Beebe said the tiger mosquito was making a “world domination” move.

“We really don’t want that point here, we are attempting quite difficult to preserve it out,” he said on Tuesday.

“Modelling has recommended it will go as far as Melbourne and Adelaide. We call it the barbecue buster and folks will truly dislike it because it will hammer them.”

Authorities acted swiftly to destroy any other adult mosquitoes that may have entered Cairns port.

A Department of Agriculture spokeswoman explained possible breeding and resting internet sites had been treated with a residual insecticide and fogging had been undertaken.

Added mosquito traps had been deployed and had been becoming monitored daily.

“There have been no further Asian tiger mosquitoes detected,” the spokeswoman said.

Exotic, probably deadly Asian tiger mosquito detected in north Queensland

Queensland doctors warn 46 infants infected in outbreak of incurable virus

Dozens of Australian babies are contaminated by a virus that has no remedy, doctors say.

Associate Professor Theo Sloots says 46 infants are infected with parechovirus, which has spread to Queensland. At least 11 instances have been confirmed in the state because December.

“The outbreak is Australia-wide now and we believe there are at least 4 kinds of the virus,” the Queensland Paediatric Infectious Conditions (QPID) laboratory director informed reporters in Brisbane.

“We don’t know what type is in Queensland in contrast to other states.”

Parechovirus is a respiratory and intestinal condition that triggers fever, irritability, rash and diarrhoea, but significant instances can develop into hepatitis or encephalitis.

QPID Associate Professor Michael Nissen said the virus contaminated mostly infants, but no 1 was sure in which it came from, how frequently it occurred or how to battle it.

“This virus does not respond to typical antibiotics,” he stated.

But Nissen said humans need to have been ready to fight it because it has been about for a long time – medical professionals just were not in a position to detect it.

The QPID laboratory has lately created a test to recognize the virus in patients inside of a day.

“It is crucial to diagnose the infection early and distinguish it from other achievable leads to,” Nissen said.

The next normal phase would be creating a vaccine, but he said until then the ideal way for mothers and fathers to avoid parechovirus was excellent hygiene all around babies.

This incorporated washing hands after going to the toilet, prior to eating, right after wiping noses and after modifying nappies.

“It truly is actually widespread-sense things,” Nissen said.

Queensland doctors warn 46 infants infected in outbreak of incurable virus

HPV vaccine halves cervical cancer chance, Queensland study shows

Australia’s mass human papillomavirus (HPV) vaccination program is doing work and saving lives, in accordance to a review published in the British Health care Journal.

The population-based review exhibits women who are entirely vaccinated are far significantly less very likely to produce cervical cancer than other females.

It was true-planet evidence the program was working, explained co-author Professor David Whiteman.

“We often knew the vaccine was safe and powerful in the narrow, controlled setting of clinical trials. This proves its value on a broad scale,” he explained.

Scientists from the University of Queensland and QIMR Berghofer health-related analysis institute looked at Pap smear final results of younger ladies in Queensland and compared these with their vaccination history.

People with higher-grade abnormalities of the cervix have been least probably to have been vaccinated.

The vaccine halves the danger of cervical cancer by avoiding infection by two kinds of HPV.

Nevertheless, ladies are nonetheless at threat from other strains. About 200 Australian women die from cervical cancer a year. This tends to make normal Pap exams vital for early detection.

“All younger females need to be vaccinated ahead of they turn into sexually active,” mentioned Whiteman. “Australia was a single of the 1st nations to undertake mass HPV vaccination. This analysis of how nicely the vaccine has worked in the very first four many years of the plan supports the decision to roll it out across the country.”

The plan saves lives and minimises future wellness expenditure, he said.

The HPV vaccine, sometimes named the cervical cancer vaccine, was developed by a University of Queensland professor, Ian Frazer.

It is provided as three doses above six months and is offered totally free to women and boys in the 1st 12 months of substantial school.

The research is great news for Australian ladies, mentioned co-writer Dr Julia Brotherton, the healthcare director of the National HPV Vaccination Program Register.

HPV is passed on by way of sexual contact and can cause penile, anal, cervical, vulval and vaginal cancers, as well as genital warts.

“With the system now vaccinating boys as well, Australia is leading the way in stopping HPV infection and the cancers it can lead to,” Brotherton explained. “It is nonetheless crucial that females don’t forget to go for Pap exams however, since the vaccine cannot stop all of the types of HPV.”

HPV vaccine halves cervical cancer chance, Queensland study shows