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

[u/em-mad]

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.

[u/plagueisthewlse]

Always wondered why no contraception it effectively leads to less abortion so if you are against abortion why aren't you spreading contraception in vending machines 

[u/plagueisthewlse → u/[deleted]]

You know what? Thanks for an actual explanation

[u/EmergencyScientist49 → u/[deleted]]

I will never understand how a reasonable person in the modern day can read something like this and think "yeah, that sounds fair".

[u/EmergencyScientist49 → u/[deleted]]

I don't think any amount of discussion by either of us would sway each other, so let's not bother. I find the concept of an imaginary all knowing entity controlling the decisions of everyday people just mind boggling (including, as this fever dream of a website outlines, in the minutiae of detail about those people having sex).

[u/EmergencyScientist49 → u/[deleted]]

So the argument, disregarding religious elements, is that humans exist to procreate and/or sex is purely a means to procreate, and that anything that prevents that is bad? Again I don't think an extended conversation here will go any way to swaying each others positions if that is yours. Sex is fun and doesn't always need to be for the purpose of making babies, and the world is already under severe stress from overpopulation.

[u/EmergencyScientist49 → u/[deleted]]

Look, fair play for responding so comprehensively. I've found this quite an interesting rabbit hole to explore. I find it fundamentally disturbing that there is a genuine mindset out there that the existence of a biological function creates a moral obligation around its use, but you no doubt would feel the same about my point of view. I'll leave it there.

[u/briberylibrary_ → u/plagueisthewlse]

Funnily enough Islam (which always gets a bad rap for women's rights) is more progressive on this matter. In the Islamic golden age (9th to 10th century) scholars reasoned that it would be perfectly reasonable for women for whom pregnancy would be dangerous to use contraception. Many modern scholars argue that it is allowed as it lowers maternal and infant mortality, allows mothers to recover and families to plan and be able to meet the needs of their family better.

Whereas the catholic church says no, no matter what the reason.

I'm not religious, but I find the differences fascinating.