Thousands of pro-life supporters protested outside the New South Wales Parliament in Sydney on Wednesday evening over a proposed abortion law they consider ‘extreme.’
It would allow the NSW Health Minister to force all public hospitals to provide abortions and remove conscientious objection rights from health care practitioners.
Some fear it would lead to Catholic hospitals closing in rural and regional areas, depriving locals of medical care and making abortions even less accessible.
Both the Labor government and the opposition have granted party members a conscience vote on the private members’ bill tabled by Greens MLC Amanda Cohn.
NSW Premier Chris Minns declared he did not support changes to conscientious objection provisions.
“This could have the consequences out of the healthcare system when we need them the most, so I won’t be voting for it,” he said.
Protest organiser and pro-life advocate Professor Joanna Howe responded: “It is not enough for the Premier to say that he will not personally vote for it. NSW Labor is the party of government, and they must block this bill.”
VIEWS OF NURSE AND WOMEN’S RIGHTS LEADER
NSW registered nurse Naomi Bunker spoke about the threats to nurses who conscientiously object.
“We’re already struggling under the weight of a system that diminishes our conscience, disregards our ethical concerns and demands our participation in something that most of us don’t support,” she said.
“This legislation doesn’t expand choice; it expands coercion.”
“Abortion is not healthcare. It’s about ideology steamrolling over ethics, safety and common sense.”
Women’s Forum Australia CEO Rachael Wong took aim at the Greens.
“It is not enough for the Greens to have abortion until birth in NSW, the Greens want more abortion,” she said.
“Amanda Cohn couches her radical and authoritarian new bill in the language of women’s rights, yet this is a bill put forward by a party that doesn’t even know what a woman is.”
VIEW OF AUSTRALIAN CHRISTIAN LOBBY
Australian Christian Lobby CEO Michelle Pearse told Vision Radio: “It’s not just Christian medical practitioners who don’t want to perform abortions.”
“In regional areas a lot of these doctors who come from perhaps conservative backgrounds have this value of life and don’t want to perform these abortions.”
“So there’s just not enough abortion providers to meet the demand.”
“This is where this push is coming from the Greens to enforce and mandate doctors to at least refer [women] directly to an abortion provider rather than to what’s currently a helpline.”
“They think these annoying conscientious objectors are in the way, so they’re trying to make it a quicker procedure for a woman to see a doctor who can refer her directly to somebody who can perform an abortion.”
“It’s terrible and a real threat to conscientious protections and a threat to women as well who are forced more violently into this procedure more quickly,” Ms Pearse explained to Vision Radio.
“This has exposed the problem of abortion providers not being able to meet the demand of women who want abortion.”
“So NSW Health should look at other alternatives and opening up the options for women to support them in having a baby.”
MAJOR PARTIES’ CONSCIENCE VOTE IS “COWARDLY”
The ACL boss rebuked the major parties for offering a conscience vote on the bill.
“To us it’s a pro-life issue, but this is also about conscientious objection.”
“The NSW government needs to make a stand and say this is against freedom.”
“This is an abuse of our obligations to international human rights conventions.”
“So to give MPs a conscience vote is really a cowardly way out of dealing with this from a leadership perspective.”
There is no timeline set for when the bill will be debated, but it could be as early as Wednesday.
Photo: Facebook – Dr Joanna Howe
