Safe access zone legislation and its compliance with the human rights of anti-abortion protesters in Australia

Article


Braun, Kerstin and Butcher, Sarah. 2024. "Safe access zone legislation and its compliance with the human rights of anti-abortion protesters in Australia." Journal of Law and Medicine. 31 (2), pp. 370-385.
Article Title

Safe access zone legislation and its compliance with the human rights of anti-abortion protesters in Australia

ERA Journal ID33514
Article CategoryArticle
AuthorsBraun, Kerstin and Butcher, Sarah
Journal TitleJournal of Law and Medicine
Journal Citation31 (2), pp. 370-385
Number of Pages16
Year2024
PublisherLawbook Co.
Place of PublicationAustralia
ISSN1320-159X
Web Address (URL)https://search.informit.org/doi/10.3316/informit.T2024070200002691098681049
Abstract

Terminating a pregnancy is now lawful in all Australian jurisdictions, although on diverse bases. While abortions have not been subject to the same degree of heated debate in Australia as elsewhere, protests aimed at persuading women not to have a termination of their pregnancy have occurred outside abortion service providers in the past. Over the last decade, this has led to the introduction of laws setting out so-called safe access zones around provider premises. Anti-abortion protests are prohibited within a specific distance from abortion services and infringements attract criminal liability. As safe access zone laws prevent protesters from expressing their views in certain spaces, the question arises as to the laws’ compliance with protesters’ human rights. This article analyses this by considering the human rights compliance of the Queensland ban in light of Queensland human rights legislation. It concludes that the imposed prohibition of anti-abortion protests near abortion clinics is compatible with human rights.

Keywordsabortion; safe access zones; human rights; Queensland; privacy and reputation; freedom of expression
Contains Sensitive ContentDoes not contain sensitive content
ANZSRC Field of Research 2020480703. Domestic human rights law
480404. Law and religion
480407. Law, gender and sexuality (incl. feminist legal scholarship)
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Byline AffiliationsSchool of Law and Justice
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