Although abortion has been effectively open slather in Australia for decades now, some states are still moving to give it even greater protected status, and in fact make things much harder on those who would seek to prevent the slaughter of the innocents.
That was certainly the case with the reprehensible abortion bill passed in Victoria in 2008. One amendment after another was voted down, thus making it one of the most hardcore pro-abortion bills anywhere in the world. But it seems the state of Tasmania is trying to take this even further.
On Friday a private members bill was introduced which would make baby killing so much easier in the Apple Isle. Here is how one news item covers the story: “Tasmania’s Health Minister has announced details of a private members bill which will allow women easier access to abortions up to 24 weeks.
“Michelle O’Byrne says the plan will give women greater access to terminations and will provide legal certainty. Currently an exemption under the Criminal Code means women can undergo a termination only after the approval of two doctors and counselling. The change will mean women no longer face the threat of criminal charges. Tasmania’s laws were based on British laws from the 1800s.”
It continues, “The Opposition has described a plan to increase women’s access to abortion as an attempted distraction from the State Government’s problems. Liberal MP Jeremy Rockliff has says the Government is trying to divert attention from Tasmania’s economic problems.
“‘The distraction of even the abortion legislation today, of course we’ll make a contribution to that and a very considered one, and passionate debates of all sides when it comes to these matter of conscience vote,’ he said. ‘But really the government needs to wake up.’ Public consultation on the bill closes on March 22.”
This article, from the ABC, in typical fashion, presents a sugar-coated version of events. The bill is much worse than is let on here. To get the real story on what is happening we need to go elsewhere. Fortunately we have that with an excellent new article from Tasmanian writer Mishka Gora.
She deftly exposes the real agenda here, and shows us what a pro-death and anti-freedom party Labor really is. She writes, “Tasmanians learned on Friday, International Women’s Day, that abortion is to be decriminalized. This left many confused. Some took it to mean that abortion is currently illegal; others wondered if the State Government had somehow ‘lost’ the amendments to the criminal code that legalized abortion, at any stage of gestation, in 2001.
“Abortion has effectively been legal in Australian states for more than 40 years, although it has remained in the criminal code. The number of prosecutions in all that time can be counted on one hand. So why the sudden enthusiasm for decriminalization?
“Because the real aim of the Labor-Green coalition which is running Tasmania is to criminalize abortion dissent. With only two weeks for the public to respond, the Health Minister, Michelle O’Byrne, has drafted what may be most draconian abortion law anywhere.
“The neighbouring state of Victoria decriminalized abortion in 2008. Ms O’Byrne says that this is the model for her bill. But the Victorian bill contains no penalties for conscientious objectors; the Tasmanian bill does. The Victorian bill doesn’t mention counsellors; the Tasmanian bill threatens counsellors with jail. The Victorian bill doesn’t mention protests; the Tasmanian bill threatens protesters with jail.”
Whenever you have a “public inquiry” in which ordinary citizens are given next to no time to prepare and enter a submission, then you know the government is trying to pull a fast one. They don’t really want public input – their mind is already made up. So that ridiculous deadline (March 22) certainly gives the game away.
And consider just what a Big Brother bill this really is: “If this bill passes, a part-time volunteer counsellor for an organization supporting pregnant women could be jailed for a year and fined up to A$65,000 if she refuses to refer a woman to a place where she can get an abortion. The bill’s definition of a counsellor includes anyone who gives ‘advice or information relating to pregnancy options’ and ‘whether or not for fee or reward’. Overnight, all agencies which disagree with abortion will be forced to shut down.
“Medical practitioners will be obliged under threat of a $65,000 fine to make referrals if they have a conscientious objection. To anyone who believes that an unborn child has a right to life making a referral means cooperating with evil. The proposed laws are coercing participation in the overall process of abortion procurement.
“Nurses who refuse to participate in abortions could be fined $65,000. The right to peaceful protest will also be shut down. The bill imposes a 300-metre-wide exclusion zone around abortion clinics. The maximum penalty is 12 months in jail and a $65,000 fine…
“To make matters worse, the prohibited activity includes intimidating, protesting or photographing, and ‘any other prescribed [sic] behaviour’. The sloppy wording, in combination with an open-ended section on regulations, could be used to punish innocent activity.
“The Health Minister has been quite disingenuous about the scope and purpose of her bill in her statements to the media. She has mentioned none of these tyrannical measures and has given the public a mere two weeks to respond to one of the most far-reaching pieces of abortion legislation ever proposed anywhere.”
Gora concludes, “Tasmanian legislators are being offered a choice between abortion at any stage and abortion at any stage plus criminalizing dissent. The minister wants to make abortion a health matter, not a criminal matter. But she wants to achieve this at the expense of freedom of conscience, freedom of speech, and common sense. After all, if it is a crime to perform an abortion without medical qualifications or a woman’s consent, shouldn’t it be in the criminal code? The law as it stands is quite sufficient, and to alter it is nothing less than tyrannical.”
Please put in even a brief submission, standing against this draconian bill. See the government site here for all the necessary details: http://www.dhhs.tas.gov.au/pophealth/womens_health
http://www.abc.net.au/news/2013-03-08/move-to-change-abortion-laws/4560248?section=tas
http://www.mercatornet.com/articles/view/new_frontiers_in_repressing_dissent
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