Page 1114 - Week 05 - Tuesday, 23 June 1992
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Madam Speaker, the difficulty one always faces when speaking on a subject such as this one is that they are very emotionally charged, and rightly so. They are issues that deal with attitudes, opinions and beliefs. They are clearly not easy issues to confront as a community. There is a natural diversity of opinions. There is the pressure of keeping up with the times. There are the fears of letting go aspects of the past. You are either a radical or an ultraconservative. The greatest danger, however, is sitting on the fence, not having an opinion either way and drifting with the tide of public opinion. I am quite prepared to express my views on this matter quite openly and unashamedly.
Madam Speaker, I feel sure that this Government feels very strongly that it is doing something quite significant for an important sector of the population. Its members feel quite sure that they are assisting women with a very difficult aspect of their life. I can see why they feel this way, because clearly an unwanted pregnancy does create enormous problems for some women and I can see that an abortion is an option to solve the problems. I can also recognise that if we go down this path it would be much better to have a clinic to handle this in Canberra because it is convenient and less costly. I can see all these arguments; but, Madam Speaker, this is not the right path to go down.
If the Government is so sure about the majority feeling about this way, why not have a referendum? Life has many pitfalls, disappointments and hardships. The good Lord knows that I have had my share. The solutions to these difficult times, in my experience, have not always been readily available to me. However, my abiding belief in the ever changing fortunes of life has strengthened my resolve to never underestimate the strength of the human spirit to come through victoriously over any situation that comes along.
The greatest measure of one's success in life is not the difficulties that one faces, because there will be many and they will come from quite unexpected quarters, but how one handles them. What we need to do instead of furthering the cause of abortion is to encourage people in their pregnancy, offer them good counselling and support, and improve education. I have heard of many cases of people who have had an unwanted pregnancy, but through strong family support, and the support of the community and friends, they have completely changed their view once the child has been born. We must remember that if we approve greater accessibility for abortions we, as a society, are supporting the view of the pregnant woman who does not wish to proceed with the pregnancy. We too are copping out. Clearly, there are exceptions and there is a need for abortion where it is necessary to preserve the woman from serious danger to her life, and I believe that these facilities are in place already. If these facilities are inadequate, then the Government should get its act together and improve the capability in its hospitals.
I have approached this subject with some very simple rules in mind. I love life. I know that whatever start you have in life it can turn out wonderfully well. There is no such thing as a difficult problem that cannot be worked through. Life has a wonderful way of twisting and turning and coming out on top. There is no such thing as an easy life. Children are our future. Life is a gift from God and should therefore be regarded with the utmost respect and thankfulness. Against these simple but tried and true rules, there is no way that I can, in all honesty, agree with this Termination of Pregnancy (Repeal) Bill 1992. We cannot have a
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