By Dr Emma Wood

The Sydney Morning Herald recently published one of the saddest abortion stories I’ve ever read. It is the kind of story that unsettles you, whether you regard yourself as “pro-choice” or “pro-life”. If you are pro-choice, the story forces you to come to grips with the humanity of the foetus. If you are pro-life, the story might cause you to wonder, even if momentarily, whether the principles by which you stand are sufficiently nuanced or compassionate.

As more data emerges from countries where euthanasia has been legalised, it is becoming clear that women are the biggest losers when it comes to these harmful laws. The latest research points to a worrying escalation in rates of suicide for women in countries that have legalised euthanasia and assisted suicide.

Victorian medical oncologist Dr Marion Harris has penned a powerful piece against Tasmania’s End of Life Bill saying “it is one of the most liberal pieces of euthanasia legislation in the world”.