ABORTION:
Cutting Australia's abortion rate

by David Perrin

News Weekly, November 5, 2005
Since abortion became widely available in Australia, some three million babies have been aborted. But there are a number of simple measures Australia could adopt to give women a better alternative, argues David Perrin.

Victoria has become the late-term abortion capital of Australia. A doubling of late-term abortions in Victoria has prompted the state's Health Minister Bronwyn Pike to propose regulations to make mothers contemplating a late-term abortion undergo a 48-hour cooling-off period and compulsory counselling.

Unfortunately, the proposals are only for mothers considering a late-term abortion for psychosocial reasons, leaving mothers who may have deformed babies free to go ahead with their abortions.

The counselling proposed by the self-admitted pro-abortion Victorian Health Minister is undefined and could actually encourage a mother to go ahead with abortion.

This Victorian proposal will also give the legal green light to late-term abortions which are currently a crime under the Victorian Crimes Act.

With late-term abortions nobody can deny that the aborted child is a baby because the body parts are clearly visible with little heads, arms and legs.

All methods that an abortionist uses to kill a baby are gruesome, but all are justified by the medical profession as a legitimate means for late-term abortion. This is despite the fact that an aborted baby at this level of maturity undoubtedly feels pain before it dies.

As a financial inducement to discourage women from undergoing abortion, Federal Health Minister Tony Abbott is seeking to pay the current baby bonus in instalments from 14 weeks into the pregnancy in order to encourage mothers to keep their babies. He is also proposing to add voluntary pregnancy counselling to the Medicare schedule.

There is no guarantee that any of these proposals will be approved by his federal colleagues, as some of them are actively pushing for the chemical abortion pill RU486 to be made available in Australia, especially now that the pro-life champion, Brian Harradine, is no longer a senator.

Prime Minister John Howard is reportedly favourably disposed to making the abortion pill available.

There is not the slightest possibility that any MP, state or federal, will be successful in reducing the number of abortions, estimated to be at least 90,000 every year.

Reliable estimates indicate that, since abortion became legal and freely available in Australia, some three million babies have been aborted - that is, three million lost citizens who could have made a significant positive addition to Australian society.

What can be done?

The Australian Family Association believes that urgent measures should be taken to save future babies from abortion.

Abortions are not in the national interest. They deprive the country of countless potential citizens, together with the talents and benefits they could bring to Australia.

Unborn babies are the future of our nation, and our political leaders need to be stung into action to protect these little Aussies and to give them every opportunity to make their contribution.

The AFA proposes a series of initiatives that could significantly cut our country's abortion rate. The AFA calls on the government to:

• Conduct a federal public inquiry into all surgical and chemical abortions to obtain accurate information on the number and impact of abortion on our community. This would include the full costs of abortion, including the consequences of our ageing population on defence, health and the economy, and also the severe trauma suffered by mothers who have had abortions.


• Introduce mandatory counselling for any mother considering abortion and inform her of the superior alternatives to abortion.


• Offer financial incentives to mothers not to abort but rather to continue their pregnancy to birth. This may, or may not, include Health Minister Tony Abbott's proposed advanced baby bonus.


• Support programs of assistance provided by religious and community groups that help pregnant mothers to continue their pregnancy.


• Introduce a relinquishing mother's payment to reward mothers who give up their babies for adoption.


• Introduce an adopting parent's payment to reward parents who adopt a baby not wanted by its mother.


• Legislate for a risk-recognition statement, to be signed by both the abortionist and aborting mother, outlining the physical and psychological risks associated with abortion, including increased risks of breast cancer, infertility, depression and suicide. This risk-recognition statement should be the legal pre-condition of any Medicare payments for future abortions.


• Provide grief counselling for all mothers who have had abortions so that they can cope better with the resulting psychological trauma.

Politicians are very reluctant to be involved with any abortion-reducing initiatives, so it is entirely up to the community to push for these reforms.

News Weekly readers are urged to send a copy of this article to their local state and federal MPs and to demand immediate and urgent action from them to reduce the number of abortions in Australia.

• David Perrin is national president of the Australian Family Association.