Article Critique: Prisoner's Abortion Bid and Ethical Considerations

This assignment is an article critique of a news report by Isabel Roe (2017) concerning a prisoner with schizophrenia who was denied an abortion in Queensland. The critique analyzes the case of a 33-year-old woman, identified as QBD, with a history of mental illness, drug use, and involvement in criminal matters, who sought to terminate her pregnancy. The author presents the arguments for and against the Queensland Civil and Administrative Tribunal (QCAT)'s decision to deny the abortion, highlighting the complex care needs of QBD due to her mental health issues. The critique emphasizes the ethical considerations, including the legal implications of late-term abortions, the balance between the law and healthcare professionals' decisions, and the potential risks to both the mother and the twins. It also identifies the strengths of the article, such as its clear presentation of both sides of the argument and the ethical soundness of the decision, while pointing out weaknesses like the unclear stance of the author and the lack of reference to risks of termination for the twins. The critique references the legal and ethical implications of the QCAT decision.

Running head: ARTICLE CRITIQUE
Article critique
Name of the student:
Name of the University:
Author’s note

1ARTICLE CRITIQUE
Article critique of ‘ Prisoner with schizophrenia has bid for termination of twins rejected’
Media type: Online new website Author: Isabel Roe
The author Roe, (2017) brings forward the Queensland’s health system action of barring
abortion in a mentally ill person with a drug problem. The author set the scene for the argument
against Queensland’s action by stating about a 33 year old woman who applied for a special
consent to terminate her pregnancy at 20 weeks as she did not wanted any children. The women
was found to suffer from history of mental illness, drug use, hepatitis C positive and she was
involved in criminal matters too. She has been living in a Brisbane mental health facility as she
breached a bail order. Overall, the author has presented the whole case in a simple language
without any technical jargon and legal terms. It is easy for any common public to understand the
problem.
In the article, the women is given the term QBD as it is referred by the Queensland Civil
and Administrative Tribunal (QCAT). The author has effectively presented the argument
regarding the reason for which continuing with pregnancy will be risky for QBD. This also
reflects that the author feels that barring pregnancy in the women is unjustified. The mains
arguments raised was that QBD had complex care needs due to her mental illness and her
parent’s also feel the termination procedure is justified because she lack the capacity to take care
of children. However, the QCAT’s rationale for barring pregnancy is that QBD lacks mental
capacity to take complex personal decisions because she has been diagnosed with mental illness.
Secondly, continuing with pregnancy will require coordinated care and treatment for her (Pozzi
et al., 2017). The strength of the article is that the author has beautifully presented both sides of
the argument. This also shows that QCAT has made ethically sound decision because late

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pregnancy termination is associated with many ethical and human right issues because the fetus
is alive by that time (Kimmelman & London, 2015).
The author has provided insight into the legal implications of going for abortion after 20
weeks. However, abortion beyond 20 weeks is legal in many states in Australia and South
Australia. It might be possible that QBD might have got consent for abortion if she was in
another state. The author has also presented the irony of the case where law is taking more
precedent to decide about a women’s health instead of health care professionals. While deciding
on termination pregnancy for QBD, QCAT must have relied on health care professional’s
decision. One weakness in the article is that it is not clear what stance is the author taking,
because at one point that author mentions law is dominant over health care professionals,
however the articles also shows that medically also QBD is at high risk during her pregnancy
because of low lying placenta and smoking habits. Another limitation presented by the author
regarding QCAT is that they have referred to the risk of pregnancy for QBD’s health, however
no reference has been made to the risk of termination for the twins.

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Reference
Kimmelman, J., & London, A. J. (2015). The structure of clinical translation: efficiency,
information, and ethics. Hastings Center Report, 45(2), 27-39.
Pozzi, R. A., Yee, L. M., Brown, K., Driscoll, K. E., & Rajan, P. V. (2014). Pregnancy in the
severely mentally ill patient as an opportunity for global coordination of care. American
journal of obstetrics and gynecology, 210(1), 32-37.
Roe, I. (2017). Prisoner with schizophrenia has bid for termination of twins rejected. Retrieved
23 September 2017, from http://www.abc.net.au/news/2017-09-03/prisoner-abortion-
denied-mental-health-grounds/8866696