A 12-year-old Queensland girl had to argue for an abortion in Queensland's Supreme Court in April 2016 despite having approval from her doctor, her family, her obstetrician and a public hospital for the termination.
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"Q's case" has prompted two Queensland academics to argue it is time to change "outdated" 100-year-old abortion laws in Queensland and New South Wales.
"The decision of the health service to seek direction from the court underlines the fear and uncertainty on the part of doctors and administrators regarding the legality of abortion in Queensland," the authors write.
"It is to be hoped that both states will see abortion decriminalised in the near future and placed in the health regulations, so that practitioners have clear guidance for abortion care."
Sixteen Queensland girls under the age of 13 sought advice on receiving an abortion between July 2015 and June 2016, Children By Choice advises.
Fifteen girls were able to obtain private terminations.
The 16th girl, known as Q, had to wait for a month to argue her case in Queensland's Supreme Court.,
Professor Heather Douglas from the University of Queensland's School of Law and Professor Caroline de Costa from James Cook University's School of Obstetrics argue in the Medical Journal of Australia published on Monday this case shows the need for urgent abortion law reform in Queensland and New South Wales.
"Although the termination then took place, the delays with further consultations and the court process itself meant that a month had elapsed since Q had first requested it," the pair write.
"This significantly increased the stress and mental trauma for the young woman and extended the gestation period, therefore increasing the possible risks of the procedure."
In Queensland and New South Wales obtaining or performing an abortion - the termination of an unplanned pregnancy - is still a criminal offence.
Both states have bills before their respective parliaments to amend abortion law, but progress appears slow.
Queensland has independent MP Rob Pyne's current private members bill to amend health regulations covering abortion.
In New South Wales, Greens MLC Dr Mehreen Faruqi has drafted the Abortion Law Reform (Miscellaneous Acts Amendment) Bill 2016.
That will repeal all criminal offences relating to abortion.
Victoria, the Australian Capital Territory and Tasmania have already decriminalised abortions and Northern Territory's parliament is considering reform.
"Most Australian states have introduced significant legislative modifications since 2000; however, in NSW and Queensland, the legislation, and specifically the offences, are more than 100 years old and well overdue for reform," professors Douglas and De Costa write in Monday's Medical Journal of Australia.
The 12-year-old girl, Q, sought an abortion from her local GP, who referred her to the local public hospital.
The hospital's specialist obstetrician consulted the girl and "believed it was appropriate for her to have a termination because there were significant risks to her physical and mental health" if the pregnancy was allowed to proceed.
Despite the girl, her parents, her GP and the specialist obstetrician all supporting the termination, the hospital's health administration applied to Queensland's Supreme Court to "authorize the abortion."
This decision meant the girl's estranged father had to be notified, she had to visit a psychiatrist as part of the process and increased the risk of the abortion, the two professors write.
"It is to be hoped that both states will see abortion decriminalised in the near future and placed in the health regulations, so that practitioners have clear guidance for abortion care," they write.
