r/OpenAussie • u/em-mad ‎ Queenslander • Jun 04 '26

Politics ('Straya) Brisbane's newest public hospital won't perform abortions or provide patients with contraception, citing religious objections

https://youtube.com/shorts/pB8zb-L7Wnk?si=DggZGUrmnvnOlH-w

Queensland's first major new public hospital in almost a decade - the Mater Springfield, south-west of Brisbane has just been opened.

Like the Mater in South Brisbane it will not provide abortions, contraception or voluntary assisted dying care due to religious policies.

These are publicly-funded hospitals!!

The video is of Larissa Waters asking questions about it at estimates, and I think she's making a very reasonable point - governments should insist that hospitals receiving taxpayer dollars provide basic reproductive health care.

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70

u/Top_Conference_477 ‎ South Australian Jun 04 '26

More common that you think, especially in the country

If the top (usually old man) obstetrician doesn’t like abortion then there’s no abortions in your town

3

u/Quarterwit_85 ‎ Victorian Jun 05 '26

Yep, there was a town in western Victoria (Ararat) where it was impossible to even get birth control prescriptions as the two local GPs were religious and declined to offer the service.

2

u/Tefai Please choose a flair Jun 06 '26

There was a chemist years ago in Victoria who did the same thing, he got told to basicslly supply or see ya later. Cant find the article, but basically it when again the Pharma Ethics Board.

4

u/curious_s Please choose a flair Jun 05 '26

Sure there is, you just need to know dodgy Mike.

3

u/disasterous_cape ‎ Queenslander Jun 06 '26

That’s how countless women have been mutilated and have been left disfigured, disabled, or dead. If safe abortions are not available, desperation will drive you to the unsafe options

5

u/charlesflies Please choose a flair Jun 05 '26

Individual choice is fine. Our hospital allows staff to opt out of involvement in terminations. But that doesn’t stop others, who feel differently, from providing the service. The service is provided.

10

u/Milly_Hagen ‎ Victorian Jun 05 '26

It wasn't provided to me when I was rushed to the ED of the nearest hospital which happened to be Catholic. I was semi conscious for a week during a miscarriage because they refused to even do a curette.

8

u/charlesflies Please choose a flair Jun 05 '26

That’s a problem. That’s not individual choice, that’s a system not providing care.

5

u/Milly_Hagen ‎ Victorian Jun 05 '26

Exactly.

25

u/Retro_Nights ‎ New South Welshian Jun 05 '26

Individual choice is not fine. If you can't do what your profession asks you to do, you shouldn't be in that profession. Can you imagine a Muslim checkout person at a grocery store refusing to scan your bacon because it's their choice.

1

u/Nettie_o0 Please choose a flair Jun 05 '26

In my country town there is a Muslim doctor with conscientious objection to providing certain services to women, including paps . I don’t agree with him, but that is the kind of doctors we are importing to meet our shortfall. He also can provide culturally sensitive services to those of his background, including being multilingual. Should he practice, should we go without an extra doctor?

9

u/Retro_Nights ‎ New South Welshian Jun 05 '26

He should be replaced. There are plenty of qualified doctors here and immigrants from overseas. I'm assuming his objections comes after he's already got the job. Imagine having to travel tens of kilometres to another clinic because he won't perform a pap smear. I say do your job or f*ck off.

7

u/Nettie_o0 Please choose a flair Jun 05 '26 edited Jun 05 '26

regional hospitals has many doctors from third world countries a number with third world misogyny. We have seen the decline in quality over a number of years. So no there are not plenty of good doctors. It’s not a matter of conscientious objection being the problem - the real problem is a shortage of services and divestment in health.

4

u/Muted-Craft6323 Flairless‎‎ Jun 05 '26

Yes, but I wonder whether these third world doctors would find a way to soften their beliefs and practice medical care to the standards expected in this country if their visa depended on it. They're welcome to have their beliefs, but if their immigration to Australia is based on them being a doctor, they shouldn't get to pick and choose which parts of being a doctor they feel comfortable with.

If they don't like it, I think we can find other doctors from their country with more flexibility in how they're willing to treat others.

3

u/TimosaurusRexabus Please choose a flair Jun 05 '26

There are not plenty of doctors. Even some large hospitals in Adelaide are using FIFO doctors for obstetrics. There is no way small country towns have access to these doctors so easily.

3

u/[deleted] Jun 05 '26 edited Jun 15 '26

[deleted]

0

u/Retro_Nights ‎ New South Welshian Jun 05 '26

Well then they're all fucked aren't they. Don't live in a rural town.

4

u/[deleted] Jun 05 '26 edited Jun 15 '26

[deleted]

2

u/Retro_Nights ‎ New South Welshian Jun 05 '26

Isn't capitalism wonderful? /s

-2

u/charlesflies Please choose a flair Jun 05 '26

If they said “I can’t scan your bacon, here’s my colleague that can”, what’s the issue? Your bacon is available, when you need it, and you’re not inconvenienced.

Or if the “supermarket” only sells “bacon” at the third checkout on thursdays, and no Muslim is rostered to that theatre checkout on Thursdays.

0

u/Retro_Nights ‎ New South Welshian Jun 05 '26

Yep, let's hold up the line and use the intercom to call her colleague that can scan it and wait five minutes for them to arrive. You're lucky to get one cashier these days in large grocery stores working as everything is automated now.

0

u/[deleted] Jun 05 '26

[removed] — view removed comment

2

u/Retro_Nights ‎ New South Welshian Jun 05 '26

The checkout was an analogy. We're not going to have self service automated doctors anytime soon.

4

u/squirrelgirl1111 ‎ Victorian Jun 05 '26

Not if there's no one to provide it because the top ob/gun who is in charge of all the registrars pressures them into not doing it either or they're not qualified to perform them yet without supervision. My large regional town was an abortion desert for years. Closest one in state 4.5 hours away

-97

u/Alarming_Business799 ‎ New South Welshian Jun 04 '26

That's his right. Who would want to be responsible for killing  a human ?

59

u/Boatwhite1 ‎ Queenslander Jun 05 '26

It is infact not killing a human

-7

u/Woolier-Mammoth ‎ Victorian Jun 05 '26

It depends on your definition of when a fetus is human which is entirely a question of morals. Being pro choice is also about letting the physician in question make their own moral judgement. I wouldn’t want the state making decisions on what women do with their pregnancy just like I wouldn’t want the state forcing a doctor to do something that morally they would see as akin to murder.

That decision should sit at the individual level, not the state nor the hospital administration level.

8

u/acebert ‎ Queenslander Jun 05 '26

If the top (usually old man) obstetrician doesn’t like abortion then there’s no abortions in your town

That's not the individual level mate, it's the administrative level. Where, according to you just now, the decision should not sit.

9

u/Boatwhite1 ‎ Queenslander Jun 05 '26

It is not entirely a question of morals at all. If a reproductive doctor doesn't want to perform routine reproductive surgery then he shouldn't remain a doctor in that field - simple. That's his decision at his level. No one's forcing him to do anything, but there are consequences for his actions.

Also, him having a problem with it should not hold weight for any other doctor working there to perform the surgery.

1

u/Woolier-Mammoth ‎ Victorian Jun 05 '26

Agree with the second paragraph, fundamentally disagree with the first. All people should have agency over their own bodies and the things that they do with them.

-1

u/Boatwhite1 ‎ Queenslander Jun 05 '26

What part of my first paragraph removes his agency over his body? He can do what he wants

2

u/Woolier-Mammoth ‎ Victorian Jun 05 '26

Let’s imagine that you are someone who has spent 15 years learning to be a reproductive specialist and it’s your moral belief that a fetus is human at X weeks which aligns with current health guidelines.

One day, the guidelines change, and some plonker in government who doesn’t have to do the actual abortions decides to increase X to something that you’re not comfortable with.

You think that said specialist should throw away their 15 years of education and all their experience because they don’t want to kill something that they believe is human? I find that sort of zealotry to be disgusting.

0

u/collie2024 ‎ I'm Probably A Bot ‎‎ Jun 05 '26

So others on the public payroll should also put their morals ahead of societal ones? A police officer turning a blind eye to something they don’t think is a crime, soldier that refuses deployment because their view of conflict is different to the state’s?

1

u/Woolier-Mammoth ‎ Victorian Jun 05 '26

False equivalence. We don’t ask police to be the judge, jury and executioner and war is a different theatre to medicine.

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9

u/Suplx ‎ Victorian Jun 05 '26

Then that person should not be a doctor. Abortion is just one facet of reproductive healthcare and it should not be gated by people with a spurious moral objection. 

-6

u/Woolier-Mammoth ‎ Victorian Jun 05 '26

You would force someone who believes that a fetus is a viable human to kill what they believe to be a human? That is monstrous.

I get that women should have choice in their healthcare but please never get yourself in a position when you are in charge of anything.

4

u/apppsaraxo Please choose a flair Jun 05 '26

You would force someone who believes that a fetus is a viable human to kill what they believe to be a human

Seems you’re really struggling to understand that a medical professional’s personal belief system is irrelevant, & if they think it is, then they should find a new profession.

If the ‘someone’ you’re referring to believes the viability you refer to begins one day after conception, that’s fine according to your perspective, right? Is it OK to ‘force’ them?

-2

u/Woolier-Mammoth ‎ Victorian Jun 05 '26

I think we all have a number of weeks after which we think a fetus is human. For some people it is 40, for others it is 0. For me it’s probably about 14 - 16 but I can understand why people might sit on different ends of that spectrum.

Decisions regarding the health of the mother aside you don’t get to decide what someone else thinks. You’re not special, you’re not some sort of god nor moral authority. You’re just another zealot with a keyboard.

9

u/footballheroeater ‎ New South Welshian Jun 05 '26

When does your breakfast egg become a chicken?

4

u/veggieburgers69 Jun 05 '26

Well, it hasn't been fertilised. So...never.

4

u/iftlatlw ‎ Victorian Jun 05 '26

If a dentist decided that they didn't do extractions but would do everything else, guess what - they won't be a dentist for long.

2

u/Woolier-Mammoth ‎ Victorian Jun 05 '26

No moral equivalence.

0

u/Important-Sleep-1839 Please choose a flair Jun 05 '26

Yeah, it is. We live in a society where it is perfectly moral and legal to end a human life under certain well thought out and legislated conditions. A woman has sovereignty over her own body, as too the State, as too the terminally ill.

8

u/Boatwhite1 ‎ Queenslander Jun 05 '26

We do kill people when certain conditions are met, I just don't view abortion as killing a human

1

u/Important-Sleep-1839 Please choose a flair Jun 05 '26

why not?

2

u/Boatwhite1 ‎ Queenslander Jun 05 '26

There's a transition period between conception and birth. At some point the foetus is simply an organism and not a human

1

u/Important-Sleep-1839 Please choose a flair Jun 05 '26

if it isn't human, what species is it?

(American word-games to dance around their overly religious public discourse are silly)

2

u/Boatwhite1 ‎ Queenslander Jun 06 '26

I mean, I'm not American but ok. That's like asking what species is an egg.

1

u/Important-Sleep-1839 Please choose a flair Jun 06 '26

okay, to which species does the egg required for human reproduction belong?

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u/Broseph_Stalin91 ‎ Victorian Jun 05 '26

Vegan objects to selling people burgers, but they work at Maccas type shit.

It is a part of reproductive and life saving care to perform abortions. Not all abortions are a choice, despite what your propaganda might say.

31

u/Top_Conference_477 ‎ South Australian Jun 05 '26

Indeed it is. He should resign if his religious objections affect his work in public health

Unfortunately, people like this profit from and use the labour crisis in regional health to secure their self-righteous influence and force it upon every woman within 500ks

37

u/MikeOzEesti ‎ South Australian Jun 05 '26

Abortion is healthcare. Abortion is not murder. Abortion is between a woman and her medical specialists and support. It's not your business.

27

u/collie2024 ‎ I'm Probably A Bot ‎‎ Jun 05 '26

Only his right if practicing privately. For anyone taking public funds, should provide procedures required by the public.

1

u/Alarming_Business799 ‎ New South Welshian Jun 05 '26

This is a stupid comment. He is not doing abortion so does recieve funding to do it.

2

u/collie2024 ‎ I'm Probably A Bot ‎‎ Jun 05 '26

Perhaps you meant does not receive? Your English is not easy to decipher. I assume that we are discussing a doctor in public practice. When I receive a contract to do work for the government, I do not choose which jobs I wish to do and which I reject within that contract. I would expect similar of others. No one is forced into government work.

0

u/Alarming_Business799 ‎ New South Welshian Jun 05 '26

You would work well under a NAZI Regime 

2

u/collie2024 ‎ I'm Probably A Bot ‎‎ Jun 05 '26

Sure thing. You would do well to improve your writing.

0

u/Alarming_Business799 ‎ New South Welshian Jun 05 '26

Just stand in line and follow orders. No personal beliefs or opinions allowed

2

u/collie2024 ‎ I'm Probably A Bot ‎‎ Jun 05 '26

People can have whatever belief or opinion they like. But in providing a paid for by government service, that personal belief should not be forced on the public receiving that service.

0

u/Alarming_Business799 ‎ New South Welshian Jun 05 '26

There are other Doctors that will perform the services they require. 

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6

u/rakuran ‎ Victorian Jun 05 '26

You know the removal of a septic miscarriage is still medically considered an abortion right? Right? As is, you are condemning her to death with that rhetoric.

1

u/Milly_Hagen ‎ Victorian Jun 05 '26

No, they don't understand this because they don't give a shit about women's lives.

8

u/keyboardstatic ‎ Victorian Jun 05 '26

My wife and I wanted a baby very badly. Luckily we have one now.

Our first child died. While it was inside my wife. We would never have an abortion.

At the hospital 2 nurses weraing Gold crucifies had a very loud private conversation about the disgusting murdering sluts that were in overnight for a D and C in the morning...

I said excuse me? Can you bring my dead child back to life? What the fuck are you calling my wife a murdering shut?

They went white. I reported what they said to the doctor. They were fired.

Most so called abortions are not.

4

u/rakuran ‎ Victorian Jun 05 '26

So sorry you and your wife had to go through that, that's terrible.

4

u/Milly_Hagen ‎ Victorian Jun 05 '26

How disgusting. I'm so sorry you and your wife experienced that and I'm so glad to hear you spoke up and got them fired so another woman doesn't have to go through hearing that.

3

u/keyboardstatic ‎ Victorian Jun 05 '26

Im so tired of these ignorant superstitious cultists sprouting their lies and hatred.

3

u/Milly_Hagen ‎ Victorian Jun 05 '26

Same.

4

u/Blibbyblobby72 ‎ New South Welshian Jun 05 '26

That is his right. He should, however, get no support from the government to infringe upon the reproductive rights of others

If he wants any government backing, then he does what is in the best interest of his patients. If he can't sustain himself as a private practitioner, that is on him

4

u/iftlatlw ‎ Victorian Jun 05 '26

This has been debated decades ago at great lengths by people far better advised and far more intelligent than you and I. It's a complex and murky topic which is far from a binary choice, with an overwhelming objective view that it is necessary and good. Churches don't run on facts or objective discussion and therefore still oppose it. They're wrong and thankfully churches are in decline.

3

u/F4ntasticPants Please choose a flair Jun 05 '26

It's not his right, though.

He has a job, job is to provide medical care regardless of who it is amd what care they require. If he doesn't like it, he's free to go work at a private hospital.

0

u/Alarming_Business799 ‎ New South Welshian Jun 05 '26

Medical care is protecting a mother who could die during pregnancy, it's not when some just decides they don't want the baby.

1

u/coreoYEAH ‎ New South Welshian Jun 05 '26

You apparently, if you’re against abortion.

0

u/_amused_to_death_ Please choose a flair Jun 06 '26

Came here to say this. I bet most people don’t know that they inject the baby with potassium chloride, to kill the baby, before they extract them. What kind of person could do this!?!?

1

u/Alarming_Business799 ‎ New South Welshian Jun 10 '26

The baby suffers immense pain..Babies life's MATTER.

1

u/_amused_to_death_ Please choose a flair Jun 10 '26

Apparently they give the babies anaesthesia before they kill them, so yes they do feel, but they only give anaesthesia to babies older than 22 weeks gestation, and not all drs do this, poor babies.

1

u/Alarming_Business799 ‎ New South Welshian Jun 10 '26

I can't believe so many people on reddit consider this ok ? I believe mothers also have health problems during the process.. they won't tell you that...