I’m very disappointed in Australia. Here I thought it was the kind of place where individuality was valued, and there was some good old rugged common sense to the people. But then I read this ghastly story.

In short, Tegan Leach gets pregnant at the age of 18, she and her boyfriend sensibly realize they are too young to be having children, and she obtains some RU486 to induce an abortion. That’s smart and practical, although it would have been better if she’d gotten the assistance of a health care professional to monitor the situation.

Apparently, that wasn’t an option. Doctors refuse to perform abortions of any kind in Queensland, and the laws are hopelessly muddled. The courts are freaking out, and the citizens are insane. These kids had their house firebombed, and their car attacked. Now she’s being prosecuted, and faces seven years in prison.

Maybe she’ll feel mature enough to bear children when she gets out. It’s an interesting social strategy: perhaps you could cage all the girls and women until they are of an age to get pregnant, and then you could release them briefly for breeding? Then, of course, they’d be returned to a larger cage with a crib and a changing table.