Young Queenslanders for the Right to Choose organised a public forum attended by up to 150 people in the Queensland Parliament House on July 12. A similar forum took place in Cairns the next night. Full audio of the forum can be found above.
Organiser Kate Marchesi told Green Left that the aim of the event was to promote informed debate in contrast to “hysteria and emotion” in some of the public discussion surrounding the abortion law reform bill proposed by independent left wing MP Rob Pyne.
The panel was addressed by: Prof Heather Douglas (professor of law, University of Queensland); Prof Caroline de Costa (professor of obstetrics and gynaecology at James Cook University College of Medicine, Cairns); Benedict Coyne (human rights lawyer based in Brisbane and the President of Australian Lawyers for Human Rights); Dr Carol Portmann (Obstetrician and Maternal Fetal Medicine specialist); Dr Danette Langbecker (public health researcher with over 10 years' experience in health care research); and Siân Tooker (counsellor for Children by Choice).
