Australian government rejects pleas of raped Somali refugee seeking abortion
Abyan, the Somali asylum seeker who fell pregnant after being allegedly raped, was sent back to Nauru after Immigration Minister Peter Dutton said that she changed her mind and no longer wanted the baby to be terminated. The 23-year-old refugee’s lawyer, meanwhile, insisted that his client’s stand on abortion remains the same. However, she sought counselling session before proceeding with her decision.
Dutton denied the allegations that Abyan was secretly flew out of Australia prior to her hearing by insisting that the victim had changed her mind. However, Abyan’s lawyer, George Newhouse, has said otherwise.
Newhouse told The Guardian Australia that Abyan simply asked for time to decide on her schedule as she was sick prior to her arrival in Australia. She arrived in Australia on Oct. 11. Newhouse explained that Abyan had been sick and was not checked by a medical professional between Sep. 3 and Oct. 9. She was found unconscious in bed before she was flown to Australia.
Abyan was brought to the Villawood immigration detention centre to conduct her termination. The centre asked her on few occasions to schedule her abortion procedure, to which Abyan allegedly replied with, “I’ll tell you tomorrow or the next day,” the Guardian Australia reports. She also asked for an interpreter and counselling services before going through with the abortion. Newhouse said that she has not received any rape or pregnancy counselling services even though she was 14 weeks pregnant. Instead, the government sent her back to Nauru on the grounds that she changed her mind and did not want to have the abortion anymore.
On Saturday, Dutton released a statement to advocates who had expressed their disappointment with the government’s decision, saying: “Comments from some advocates to the contrary are a fabrication, while others appear to be using this woman’s circumstance for their own political agenda…They should be ashamed of their lies.” Dutton added that Abyan was brought to Australia for medical purposes and not to seek a migration outcome.
A letter sent to border force officials from Abyan’s lawyers were obtained by the Guardian Australia. The letter strongly contests the assertion that she changed her mind.
Advocates as well as the Greens and Labor are pushing for more transparency from the government regarding the real situation of the facilities and migrants in off-shore detentions.
On Monday, a written statement from Abyan was shown to the public wherein she stated that she had asked for a doctor and counselling, but her request was not granted by the government. In the same letter, Abyan explicitly noted that she did not change her mind regarding her decision to have an abortion.
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