PLANS by the ABC to screen a documentary containing footage of an actual abortion have generated a stormy debate in Australia.
The documentary, My Foetus, produced by British film-maker Julia Black, will be screened on the Compass program at 10pm on August 8.
Sydney Auxiliary Bishop Anthony Fisher, who is a member of the Australian Catholic Bishops Committee for Family and Life, said the airing of the film would be a time of silent grief.
‘For whether the abortion industry admits it or not, there are plenty of women out there whose abortions kill not only their children but a little part of themselves.’
Bishop Fisher said one could hardly recommend that people view such a film, or any film that showed real abortion happening or its tragic aftermath.
Marcia Riordan from the Respect Life Office in Melbourne archdiocese said she was concerned for women who had been traumatised by an abortion.
She said the Catholic Church had recognised the need to look after and support such women.
Bishop Fisher is also concerned at the lack of support for women who have undergone or who may have to face the choice of abortion.
Fifteen women spoke about their experiences to author Melinda Tankard Reist in her book Giving Sorrow Words, which will be the topic for a number of discussions in Queensland next month.
The growing debate about Julia Black’s film has spread with many welcoming the chance to bring the problem of abortion into the open.
Federal Health Minister Tony Abbott was asked about the decision to air the documentary in a forum on ABC Radio’s PM program on July 9.
‘It’s an ugly business and it probably doesn’t hurt for the Australian people to understand just what is going on in clinics all around Australia,’ he said.
Prime Minister John Howard told the same program he could see merit in arguments both for and against the decision to screen the documentary.
Right to Life Australia’s national president Margaret Tighe said Australia had a very high rate of abortion, ‘well over 100,000 each year’, and it was time to confront its reality.
Queensland Right to Life president Dr Donna Purcell agreed it was a positive step in the debate over abortion.
