Bulletin  10

Dear All,

ARHA has been working hard this year on the Repeal of Ministerial Responsibility for Approval of RU486 Bill 2005, please see the latest RU486 news headlines for the current state of play.

The Senate Committee report was released on the 8th February

ARHA's CAMPAIGN TO DATE

ARHA & Reproductive Choice Australia co-authored a publication sponsored by IPAS, RU486/Mifepristone: A Factual Guide to the Issues in the Australian Debate. The booklet was produced to debunk the misinformation publicly circulating about RU486.

The booklet launch was at Parliament House on 8 February and was launched by Professor Terry Hull. Read Professor Hull's speech here.

The publication was widely distributed to media and parliamentarians, and the feedback was that is was a very important and useful resource.
Various media from the Launch

ARHA has released a series of press releases throughout the campaign including:
-ARHA Welcomes Senate Vote 9 February  
-ARHA and PHAA Joint Statement On Amendments to the Therapeutics Goods Bill 2005

We appeared before the inquiry and also made a submission to the current Senate Committee Inquiry on the Repeal of Ministerial Responsibility for Approval of RU486. To see the other submissions click here.

We also commissioned a NewsPoll survey on RU486 which revealed that 68% of Australians are in favour
of RU486 being made available to qualified medical practitioners in order to terminate a pregnancy. Again this was widely circulated and used within the debate as credible data to counter misinformation.

ARHA has produced an electronic flyer, What Do Australians Think About Abortion?, containing pie charts and graphs of current Australian public opinion polls, again this was part of ARHA's campaign to circulate credible information.

ARHA has also written various Letters to the Editor including 'RU-486 Inquiry About Governance, Not Abortion' and 'The Real Issue Surrounding the RU486 Debate'

ARHA IN DOMESTIC NEWS 

NEW RU486 PETITION

Conscience Vote on RU486: EVERY MP COUNTS

This is a rare and important moment in Australian politics – both the major parties will allow their members to vote on their own conscience. That means that there will be no toeing the party line. Every vote counts, and the outcome of this important vote hangs in the balance
Late last year many of you signed our petition on this issue. Now you can contact your MP directly through our website, and tell them how you want

RU486 - A WORLD VIEW

Which Countries Have Approved RU486?

RU486 is a WHO Essential Medicine

Royal College of Obstetricians and Gynaecologists in the UK recommends RU486

Catholics for a Free Choice and International Planned Parenthood Federation letters to Australian MPs on RU486

RU486 IN WORLD NEWS

Australian Senate Approves Measure Stripping Health Minister of Authority To Regulate Access to Mifepristone
Kaiser Network Daily

Australia in abortion pill vote
BBC News

Australia Senate Removes Minister's Veto on RU486 Abortion Drug
Bloomberg - USA

RU486: Pope, Hides Seriousness of Abortion
AGI - Italy

NEW RESOURCES

Please visit our website and check out the new resource page on: RU486 

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