Couple face jail under Queensland's century-old abortion law

SYDNEY - A Cairns couple pleaded not guilty yesterday to offences under Queensland's century-old abortion law, at the start of a trial that has highlighted the legal muddle surrounding abortion.

There was widespread shock last year when Tegan Leach, now 21, and her partner, Sergie Brennan, 22, were arrested. Since then, Queensland doctors have reportedly been refusing to prescribe the abortion drug RU486, fearing they could be prosecuted.

Leach and Brennan, the first people to stand trial under the state's abortion law for 24 years, are accused of importing RU486 and another drug, Misoprostol, from the Ukraine.

She faces a maximum prison term of seven years if found guilty of procuring a miscarriage, while he could be jailed for three years for unlawfully supplying the drugs.

Queensland and New South Wales are the only Australian states where abortion has not been decriminalised. According to George Williams, a law professor writing in the Sydney Morning Herald yesterday, women can obtain abortions there only because courts have interpreted the law liberally.

In the Cairns District Court, prosecutor Michael Byrne said abortion was illegal in Queensland unless pregnancy posed a threat to the woman's life, or physical or mental health. There was no evidence of that in this case, he argued.

The couple - who were forced to move to a secret location after their home was firebombed - were arrested after police found empty blister packets while searching their house in relation to another matter.

The jury of eight women and four men heard that Leach told police she "wasn't ready for a child". Brennan said the couple were not in a position to do the best for a baby. His sister in the Ukraine sent the drugs, which he believed to be legal because Australian customs did not seize them.

Queensland's Prime Minister, Anna Bligh, has resisted calls to reform the law, saying that moves to decriminalise abortion would not succeed in a conscience vote.

Pro-choice campaigners have mounted a vigil outside the court.

Teresa Martin, from the anti-abortion group Cherish Life, told the ABC: "I think the law should remain as it is, because whilst it may only be a thin veneer ... at least it is there, making a statement that the unborn is worthy of protection."