The heartbreaking case of a 12-year-old girl forced to wait a month to get an abortion.

A 12-year-old girl was forced to wait a month for an abortion in a case that has medical experts seriously concerned about the state of current laws.

The Queensland schoolgirl expressed her desire to undergo the procedure with the support of her mother, a social worker and an obstetrician.

Despite this unanimous support, the girl known only as ‘Q’, was required to jump through several legal hoops.

The case of ‘Q’, published in the Medical Journal of Australia outlined how emotionally damaging these kinds of legal measures can be to individuals.

‘Q’ was not only required to undergo further assessment but was also forced to get in contact with her estranged father despite stating she did not want him to be informed of the procedure.

The report explained situations like that of 'Q' are not unique but part of a wider pattern.

"Data from the Children by Choice counselling service in Brisbane show that in the 12 months ending June 2016, there were consultations regarding 16 young women aged 13 years or less who presented with an unplanned pregnancy," it said.

The legal intervention in the case of 'Q' was argued by researchers Caroline de Costa and Heather Douglas as one that brought significant "mental and physical trauma" on the young girl.

De Costa and Douglas suggested that such lengthy legal interventions create further medical risks by extending the gestation period.

Abortion has already been decriminalised in Victoria, the Australian Capital Territory and Tasmania.

NSW and Queensland still view abortion as a criminal offence unless it is deemed to be "lawful".

The determination of whether a procedure is "lawful" remains ambiguous.

The report recognised this in a clause that drew focus on the fact these laws were introduced a century ago.

"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," it read.

De Costa and Douglas suggested the required legal collaboration outlined the fear present in medical bodies in regards to current laws.

"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," it read.

The researchers hoped Australia would soon see uniformity in decriminalisation across all states.