rioters bloc
17th February 2006, 03:15
Vote makes pill available within a year
By MALCOLM FARR and ALISON REHN
February 17, 2006
THE abortion pill RU486 will be in pharmacies within a year after a big majority of MPs yesterday gave away ministerial veto of its use.
Women MPs and senators applauded a final vote in the House of Representatives which passed legislation giving the Therapeutic Goods Administration power of approval.
Click here to see what your local member said in parliament
About two-thirds of the House of Representatives backed the Bill, although Mr Abbott declined to call for a specific tally of votes after it was obvious he didn't have the numbers.
He appeared upset by the outcome and issued a statement saying: "I am disappointed that the Bill has passed but am confident the TGA will exercise its additional responsibilities with utmost professionalism."
Democrats leader Lyn Allison, who introduced the Bill in the Senate, said the vote was a "wonderful win for women".
Senator Allison said Australian women could expect to be able to access RU486, like women in the US, the UK and New Zealand, within a year.
"I would hope that the vote today clears the air," she said.
An hour before the conscience vote Prime Minister John Howard tried to rally MPs to support an amendment which would have allowed Parliament to still have veto power over the drug.
The Prime Minister said restoring control of the drug to the TGA was a cop-out.
"There is just a whiff in this whole debate of this being a little too difficult and controversial, so let's give it to somebody else," he said. "I'm disappointed ... because in the end, we are elected to make decisions on difficult issues.
In a compelling five-minute speech, Labor's Health spokeswoman Julia Gillard, a strident supporter of the bill, said she agreed with former US President Bill Clinton that abortion should be safe, legal and rare.
"If we were to truly live in a world where abortion was safe, legal and rare then we would need to live in a world where there was no sexual violence against women ... where no woman was ever bullied or pressured into having sex," she said.
The conscience vote, which eliminates parties directing MPs how to ballot, was dramatic. Female senators who sponsored the original Bill sat to one side, watching closely as events unfolded.
Labor Party MPs bunked up alongside Liberal Party members, Treasurer Peter Costello sat on opposite sides of the House from his close friend and Health Minister Tony Abbott and his boss, Mr Howard.
It took an hour to get the result, with MPs first dealt with two amendments which would, in different ways, have allowed parliamentary oversight over the approval of the drug.
source: the daily telegraph (http://dailytelegraph.news.com.au/story/0,20281,18169635-5001021,00.html)
By MALCOLM FARR and ALISON REHN
February 17, 2006
THE abortion pill RU486 will be in pharmacies within a year after a big majority of MPs yesterday gave away ministerial veto of its use.
Women MPs and senators applauded a final vote in the House of Representatives which passed legislation giving the Therapeutic Goods Administration power of approval.
Click here to see what your local member said in parliament
About two-thirds of the House of Representatives backed the Bill, although Mr Abbott declined to call for a specific tally of votes after it was obvious he didn't have the numbers.
He appeared upset by the outcome and issued a statement saying: "I am disappointed that the Bill has passed but am confident the TGA will exercise its additional responsibilities with utmost professionalism."
Democrats leader Lyn Allison, who introduced the Bill in the Senate, said the vote was a "wonderful win for women".
Senator Allison said Australian women could expect to be able to access RU486, like women in the US, the UK and New Zealand, within a year.
"I would hope that the vote today clears the air," she said.
An hour before the conscience vote Prime Minister John Howard tried to rally MPs to support an amendment which would have allowed Parliament to still have veto power over the drug.
The Prime Minister said restoring control of the drug to the TGA was a cop-out.
"There is just a whiff in this whole debate of this being a little too difficult and controversial, so let's give it to somebody else," he said. "I'm disappointed ... because in the end, we are elected to make decisions on difficult issues.
In a compelling five-minute speech, Labor's Health spokeswoman Julia Gillard, a strident supporter of the bill, said she agreed with former US President Bill Clinton that abortion should be safe, legal and rare.
"If we were to truly live in a world where abortion was safe, legal and rare then we would need to live in a world where there was no sexual violence against women ... where no woman was ever bullied or pressured into having sex," she said.
The conscience vote, which eliminates parties directing MPs how to ballot, was dramatic. Female senators who sponsored the original Bill sat to one side, watching closely as events unfolded.
Labor Party MPs bunked up alongside Liberal Party members, Treasurer Peter Costello sat on opposite sides of the House from his close friend and Health Minister Tony Abbott and his boss, Mr Howard.
It took an hour to get the result, with MPs first dealt with two amendments which would, in different ways, have allowed parliamentary oversight over the approval of the drug.
source: the daily telegraph (http://dailytelegraph.news.com.au/story/0,20281,18169635-5001021,00.html)