Get Politics Out of Medicine

Working with the peak body Reproductive Choice Australia, GetUp coordinated a national petition calling on all Federal parliamentarians to end the ministerial veto over the use of the drug RU486, and let the experts decide whether this drug should be available in Australia. The campaign began at the end ot 2005 but the vote on the issue was delayed until early 2006.

In February 2006, GetUp and Reproductive Choice Australia travelled to Canberra and - in a very rare and quite wonderful occurence - met with female senators from all five of the major parties to present almost 8000 signatures. Senators Nettle, Allison, Moore, Nash and Troeth received the petition in front of Parliament House with media in attendance. Read a full account of our visit to Canberra on our blog.

The five senators receiving the petition, GetUp Executive Director Brett Solomon with RCA spokesperson Dr Leslie Cannold on the right

The five senators lined up behind the GetUp banner, which was unfurled outside Parliament House