Larissa Waters (Queensland, Australian Greens) Share this | Hansard source

In June 2018 lawyers representing the Department of Home Affairs argued in court against bringing a pregnant refugee, suffering female genital mutilation in detention on Nauru, to Australia for an abortion. The court found that the specific medical needs of women who had undergone FGM were so specialised that they could not be met in Taiwan, and that the woman should be brought to Australia for appropriate medical treatment.

The case highlights the ongoing inhumanity of our border protection policies. This Somali refugee should have already been living in this country and should not have been detained indefinitely in an offshore hellhole trying desperately to avoid an unwanted pregnancy. The government is trying to wash its hands of its responsibility for the health care of innocent people seeking our nation's protection. Border Force decisions must be underpinned by Australian medical standards, and never again should taxpayer funds be used to argue in court against a pregnant woman needing specialised medical attention getting that attention here. This motion urges the minister to take responsibility for the medical requirements, particularly of pregnant women— (Time expired)