Page 3803 - Week 10 - Wednesday, 27 August 2008
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As a result of the introduction of the Victorian legislation, the Australian Medical Association is writing to all MPs asking them to support the bill, saying it would not affect the number of abortions. This is of course a common counterargument for the pro-life supporters. Victorian health minister, Mr Daniel Andrews, also said, in a media report last week, that the laws would reflect current practices and research that shows decriminalising abortion would not trigger an increase in terminations.
Also of note is the interesting media coverage surrounding the selection of American Republican presidential hopeful John McCain’s vice-presidential candidate. ABC News, along with CNN and several other major news outlets, have been reporting that Mr McCain will be selecting a pro-choice candidate for VP.
Before I revisit a few of the debating points that provided members with an abundance of information on which to reach their informed moral decision here in the ACT, I would like to begin with a quote from Hansard. Mr Speaker, this quote formed part of your introductory remarks on the Crimes (Abolition of Offence of Abortion) Bill 2001, where you wisely remarked:
… legal or otherwise, abortions will continue to occur. Regardless of anyone’s views on the moral question, we have the collective responsibility to ensure that we cannot be charged with turning a blind eye to the reality of ACT women having access to abortion and, at the same time, the existence of criminal sanctions.
In the ensuing debate, we were subjected to a range of views from all members, some of which I will highlight here. The Chief Minister mentioned:
As individuals, women are responsible for their own reproductive decisions. Women must have the right to make reproductive decision for themselves and the community should respect and support such decisions. I believe that the provisions relating to abortion should be removed from the ACT Crimes Act to reflect the principle that the regulation of human reproduction is a health issue and not the business of the criminal law.
The Chief Minister also referred to other jurisdictions and their positions on the issue, stating:
All Australian jurisdictions have felt it necessary to review their abortion laws in recent years and regulate abortions in some way.
Going back to the previous debate in the ACT, Minister Corbell alluded to Mr Berry’s statements in the debate, highlighting:
Abortions should be safe, they should be legal and they should be rare.
Again, I agree. Mrs Cross said in 2002:
I agonised for so long over this matter and I canvassed views from as many sources as I could, including views from lobby groups and prominent figures in the national-level debate—people who have had first-hand experience, medical practitioners and people with diverse views from different age groups and different professional, socioeconomic and religious backgrounds. Then I tried to weigh objectively the range of views that I was presented with.
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