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Abortion case verdictNot Guilty! The couple on trial in Cairns this week for importing abortion drugs and using them to procure an abortion, have been found 'not guilty' by the jury. The jury only took an hour to decide. In effect, the judge instructed the jury that they not not come to a guilty verdict unless they could prove 'beyond reasonable doubt' that the drug harmed the woman - and should find them innocent if the drug caused the woman 'no ill effect'. Unfortunately, it was the evidence of the prosecution's expert witness that led to this... the professor had said that the drug would have no ill side effects on the woman! Dr David van Gend, of the World Federation of Doctors who Respect Human Life, said "The most important outcome of the Cairns abortion trial was the Crown's powerful restatement of principle in Queensland law, that it is prohibited for adults to take the life of their unborn baby unless compelled to do so because of serious risk to the life or health of the woman. As the Crown prosecutor, Michael Byrne, reminded the jury, abortion is "illegal unless the pregnancy posed a threat to the woman's life or her physical or mental health" and is not permitted for reasons of "lifestyle"." Media Report: Christian comment: There has been a lot of comment about the changing of the law regarding abortion. However, both the government and the Opposition have said, since the decision, that abortion laws will NOT be changed in Queensland. |