Page 2341 - Week 07 - Wednesday, 2 August 2017
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The rationale for this legislation was aptly captured by a constituent who wrote to Mr Rattenbury at the time, and it is worth repeating. The constituent said:
Democracy is not just about rights but also responsibilities, which includes I believe responsibility to contribute to a civil, respectful, cohesive society and do no harm to others. So while I welcome the right to protest and express opinions, this must be tempered by the respect for those on the other side of the fence, in this case women seeking/about to have an abortion. We do not know their stories. Intimidating, harassing, threatening, abusive behaviour, or filming and obstructing the path of these women outside clinics, at a very emotional and vulnerable time, is not respectful. Protesters should make their views felt to law and policy makers, politicians, media.
We must remember that we live in a secular society and that we should be governing for all Canberrans, not just those with particular religious beliefs. That is why it is important that we have a human rights framework, as we do in the ACT, and that is why we need to uphold a woman’s right to choose whether or not to have a child.
More broadly, personally I believe that population increase is a concern for the whole world. We certainly appear to have more people than there is room for in this world. We have a finite world. There is increasing evidence that people are negatively impacting upon the planet. The rate of species extinction has accelerated. We are now entering what people are calling the Anthropocene, where we are increasingly dictating what happens for the world as a whole, not just for individuals. I refer to the rate of species extinction, climate change, and the plastic sinks in the oceans with kilometres just filled with plastic.
I did a bit of quick Googling before this speech and the consensus seemed to be that we would need three planets of the size and with the resources of the Earth if we wish to continue sustainably supporting our current population. If we wish to support people at the rate of material consumption that we are fortunate to enjoy in the ACT, I think the figure is looking more like five planets.
That is another reason why women should have a say about whether they wish to have children or not. Ideally, every child should be a wanted child. This will ensure that they are nurtured to reach their potential and are able to participate as members of our society in a meaningful and positive way. This is why we need to have access to birth control, and that birth control measures are affordable. Similarly, we need to ensure that termination services are affordable. Clearly, if you cannot afford termination services, it is almost impossible to believe that you would be in a position to be able to afford to raise a child.
Mrs Jones talked earlier about sexual assault and sexual harassment, which I have to agree is a serious issue. I think this is even more reason why we have to allow women choice with respect to termination services. How bad could it be if you have been sexually assaulted and, as a result, have ended up pregnant and to then be forced to bear a child that you have absolutely no desire whatsoever to bear? It is hard to understand why some people feel that that is a choice that a victim of sexual assault has to go through. It is very hard to believe that people here believe that is a reasonable thing to force women to do.
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