Almost 25 years ago, former Labor MP Cheryl Davenport walked into parliament with her written bill to legalise abortion in Western Australia - recently she sat down with ACM journalist Samantha Ferguson to reflect on what the bill meant in its time, how it can be refined today, and the fallout from the US Supreme Court's decision to overturn Roe v Wade.
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"I was a feminist, I had worked for one of the two women senators at the time, Patricia Giles - and I just thought, well if I'm going to get into the upper-house... I want to actually do stuff that meant something," Ms Davenport said.
"A lot of the women's organisations came to talk to me and I thought, well, I can do this, let's have a go."
Sparked by outrage after two Perth doctors were charged in 1998 for performing abortions, the first charges laid against medical practitioners under those laws in 30 years, Ms Davenport knew she would have to act quickly.
She said that while she rallied a lot of support from both expected and unexpected places in and out of parliament, she knew at the time it would take compromise and tweaking for the bill to be passed due to a "vote of conscience" system.
Among the parts to be revised today, she said, was two doctors being required to sign off on the procedure.
"The part about not having the two doctors - it's time, it's got to go. I mean, that was the compromise I had to make at the time to get it through.
"We just had to get it through at the time because women would do it themselves. Two women did it and ended up in hospital - because they were so scared."
Another section to be revised, Ms Davenport said, reads that a patient under the age of 16 who does not have permission from a parent must go through the children's court.
"If their parents aren't on-side they can't get one unless they go through the Children's Court.
"It's still a nightmare, you know, it needs to be fixed."
At the time of the proposed bill in the 90s, Ms Davenport said women from all across the political spectrum approached her and asked what they needed to do to go out and lobby on her behalf.
"I mean it's fantastic to have that kind of response. I was pretty well supported for the fact that I took it on and had the courage to, and had a bunch of really good women behind me."
She said that although the bill had been passed over 20 years ago, 80 percent of Western Australians in 1998 were in favour of decriminalising abortion.
The bill eventually passed with former Labor MP Diana Warnock bringing the bill through the state's lower house.
Despite all the support, Ms Davenport's political stances did receive some backlash in the media and in her personal life from the general public.
How backwards... I feel terrible for the American women, it's just awful.
- Cheryl Davenport
As a single parent sharing custody of her son with her ex-partner, Ms Davenport realised she would have to take steps to protect her family from these ramifications.
"I was listed in the phone directory, and some of the calls I used to get - people would say shocking stuff... I had to get my phone number unlisted to protect my son."
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Her son, however, was one of her biggest supporters throughout her career and remains so to this day.
Ms Davenport said she was devastated to see the news that the United States Supreme Court had made the decision to overturn Roe v Wade, and felt for the American women this would impact.
"How backwards, and thank god we haven't got that electoral system. I feel terrible for the American women, it's just awful."
Ms Davenport added while the situation across Australia was in a far better place when it came to freedom of choice, she was hopeful that today's parliament would be able to make further moves with the bill in WA.
In the 2021 Queen's Birthday Honours, Ms Davenport's contributions were recognised with her appointment as a member of the Order of Australia for her "significant service to the Parliament of Western Australia".
"People sort of say to me 'why did you do it?' - I couldn't see the reason for being in the parliament if you weren't there to make a difference.
"And for me, I know I made a difference and now it needs to be upgraded and, you know, the people that are there now, it's their way of making a difference."
Samantha Ferguson
Samantha Ferguson is a journalist at the Mandurah Mail. She is an entertainment, sport, crime, community and education journalist with a special interest in investigative pieces and human interest stories.
Samantha Ferguson is a journalist at the Mandurah Mail. She is an entertainment, sport, crime, community and education journalist with a special interest in investigative pieces and human interest stories.
