The Western Australian Government is proposing to introduce into Parliament a new Mental Health Bill 2011. This Draft Mental Health Bill has been prepared for public comment. It would appear from the Draft Bill, that the Western Australian Government is proposing to legislate that a sterilisation procedure could be performed on a child who has a mental illness provided that the child has sufficient maturity and understanding to make reasonable decisions about matters relating to himself or herself and/or the person has given informed consent to the sterilisation procedure being performed.WWDA is of the view that this section of the Draft Bill, is in direct breach of a number of human rights treaties to which Australia is a party, and we have written to the Western Australian Minister for Mental Health requesting her urgent intervention to repeal Part 12: Division 3 [Sterilisation Procedure] from the [Draft] Mental Health Bill 2011. A copy of WWDA’s Submission to the Minister is provided here, along with a copy of the recently published Guidelines on Female Contraceptive Sterilisation and Informed Consent, issued by the International Federation of Gynecology and Obstetrics (FIGO).Copyright WWDA March 2012.
