On Wednesday May 7, pro-life ‘rallyers’ came together in Sydney outside of the NSW Parliament House to protest the Greens’ abortion bill. The bill, which was introduced by Amanda Cohn (Greens MLC), and was since passed into law in a 65-20 majority vote, is in my view an affront to healthcare professionals in NSW.
Although parliamentarians voted for the bill with significant amendments, the estimated 5,000 people who turned up to the rally spearheaded by pro-life advocate and legal professor, Joanna Howe, indicate strong and growing opposition for the legislation.
Other prominent figures who made an appearance included former Prime Minister Tony Abbott and Sydney Catholic Archbishop, Anthony Fisher. Several key cultural influencers and activists were also present.
What is in the bill? It contains a number of provisions which seek to expand abortion access, plus powers to force some hospitals into performing abortions or referring pregnant women to abortionists. Health practitioners with a conscientious objection must transfer the patient rather than provide information.
A representative of ACT Right to Life has made the following statement:
‘These new laws will result in pro-life medical professionals feeling undermined within their professions, and it will do nothing other than cause an unnecessary stir within healthcare departments which are already experiencing heavy staff shortages. Many pro-life professionals are feeling squashed by the state and other colleagues, and they face complaints in their workplaces for speaking up. They are essentially being asked to defy the Hippocratic oath and commit murder, if they believe that life begins at conception, which it does, according to overwhelming medical research.’
According to the first draft of the bill, section 4A(2) indicates the minister may give ‘directions’ to the ‘public health organisation’. These ‘directions’ are open-ended. A public health organisation will be forced to comply with the direction according to section 4A(3), therefore pro-life doctors may lose their job unless they submit to directions.
It is my opinion that this legislation is coercive and would completely undermine an individual’s rights under international human rights law, particularly laws regarding self-determination and right to life.
Article 1 of the International Covenant on Civil and Political Rights states the following:
All peoples have the right of self-determination. By virtue of that right they freely determine their political status and freely pursue their economic, social, and cultural development.
There is a general presumption that statutory law in Australia should not be contrary to the principles at International Law. This means the NSW abortion legislation could be considered by some to be in breach of International Law, including laws that are upheld within Australia’s own domestic case law. Whenever a state Act is contradictory to the Constitution, the Constitution prevails, and the Constitution is clear about its citizens enjoying the implied right to political communication in all spheres of life, including in their workplaces.
Dr Joanna Howe, is a legal scholar, so perhaps this is why Australians are listening to her views on the topic?
Along with Howe, spokeswomen from the social media activist group called Bird Flip (formed by Dr Howe), have offered their own opinions on the legislation.
Anouska Firth, has stated the following:
‘When the radical Greens Abortion Law Reform Amendment (Healthcare Access Bill) was first tabled, there were four extremely concerning areas: potential removal of conscientious objection for healthcare professionals; threats to enshrine in law ministerial powers which would override religious freedom; the removal of reporting requirements for abortionists; as well as the transformative element of turning nurses and midwives into abortionists for babies in-utero up to 22 weeks.’
Pieta Winkels, an up-and-coming younger representative of the pro-life movement in Australia, has also offered the following statement:
‘The second rally against the Green’s radical abortion bill breathed a new life into the pro-life movement here in Sydney and I hope, by extension, the rest of the country. Perhaps I am only seeing it as a 20 year-old who hasn’t witnessed a great deal of what has occurred in recent decades, but that’s just the point. The young faces in the crowd revealed that a new generation, one I am lucky to be a member of, is stepping up. The bill may have been passed, but the fervour of that crowd won’t be dying away any time soon. This is just the beginning.’
I too, am of the opinion that the younger generation are hungry for justice and are becoming more and more disillusioned by the state of politics in Australia, particularly when they see society’s most sensitive issues and vulnerable people being abused to advance party agendas. Now has never been a more suitable time in history to be pro-life, and proud of it. Some 73 million induced abortions are taking place annually, and our Woke, inept politicians, continue to be part of this problem.
