Hayes JoanneJOANNE HAYES (National): Thank you Madam Chair and I am pleased to take a call on this part of the Abortion Legislation Bill in the committee of the whole House. I stand in support of the provision of abortion services to women who are not competent to make an informed choice and give informed consent. This bill does not—does not—offer these services to those women. These women do not have a voice. What this bill does is it treats all women as though they are all competent and those that are not do not have a right here.I am looking at clause 7—after section 11 the insertion of 11A. What this Supplementary Order Paper on the new section 11A proposes is the provision of abortion services to a woman who is not competent to make an informed choice and give informed consent. We want to be able to protect them and give them those choices. The vulnerability of women who lack capacity to consent was highlighted in a recent English court that found that it was in the best interests of a 24-year-old woman with a learning disability to compel her to have an abortion that she did not want. While this decision was overturned on appeal it highlights the necessity for robust safeguards to protect these vulnerable women and that's who they are. There is currently danger of women being coerced and abused by virtue of their age or their intellectual capacity to have an abortion against their will.The Human Rights Commission submission to the select committee stated that The Code of Rights presumes every person to be competent to give informed consent unless reasonable grounds for believing otherwise. Where a person is not competent to give informed consent a legal guardian or person holding an enduring power of attorney may consent on their behalf. Where there is no one available to consent on the consumer's behalf a health practitioner is guided to consult a suitably experienced colleague before proceeding." While the Code of Rights may stipulate this the bill contains no guidelines whatsoever related to the processes to be followed in the case of an inability to consent and that is a real risk for vulnerable women. This amendment will ensure past and present views are fully taken into account and are facilitated as much as possible.The new section 11A starts out through the "Provision of abortion services to woman who is not competent to make an informed choice and give informed consent (1) Prior to providing abortion services to a woman the qualified health practitioner must determine whether the woman has capacity to—(a) make an informed choice; and (b) to provide informed consent to abortion services." And this will take a test. It will take a test and if it is found that the woman is incapable of making that decision there needs to be some form of support for her because she becomes so vulnerable. So my insertion of new section 11A protects vulnerable women. I think it actually adds to this bill. It makes it more robust and more protective of those women that have capacity issues and I believe that there needs to be a legal guardian of the woman or somebody that is able to communicate with her to explain to her what has been put on around abortion services and allow her to make that informed consent without being bullied or coerced into that decision "by the court or an agent … following an application for the exercise of the court's jurisdiction under the relevant provisions of—(i) the Care of Children Acts 2004: (ii) the Protection of Personal Property Rights Act 1988: (iii) and other relevant statute."We must look after these women who have capacity issues. We do not want to see them bullied. I believe that the insertion of new section 11A in clause 7 does make this bill a better bill and more protective of those women who have competency issues. I don't support the bill."