MELBOURNE Archbishop Denis Hart has added his voice to opponents of the Abortion Law Reform Bill currently before the Victorian Parliament.
The Bill proposes to decriminalise abortion of pregnancy up to 24 weeks by a medical practitioner.
Archbishop Hart said the Bill did nothing to reduce the incidence of abortion.
He said it permitted pharmacists and nurses to supply or administer drugs to women up to 24 weeks of pregnancy without the supervision of a medical practitioner.
Archbishop Hart said treating abortion as an ordinary medical procedure deprived the newborn of the legal protection which the law should afford them.
“Abortion, understood as the intentional destruction of the unborn child in the womb, is always wrong and unjust,” he said.
“The unborn child is a human being entitled to the protection of the law no less than any of us.
“Every attempt to harm an innocent human person violates principles of justice and is always wrong.”
Archbishop Hart said restrictions imposed after 24 weeks would deter no one as no doctor would ever need fear prosecution.
“The Bill fails the objectives set for it by the Government,” he said.
“It does not reflect current clinical practice and community standards and fails to provide legal certainty to women or medical practitioners and should be opposed.”
Teresa Martin, of Cherish Life Queensland, said imposing restrictions was unlikely to deter abortionists who already side-stepped laws.
She said abortion advertisements promoted services up to 19 weeks and six days to free parents and practitioners from the legal requirement to register all births over 20 weeks gestation.
“They run the ad in the papers and there is evidence that those who are over 20 weeks are asked ‘are you sure about your dates’, so they can put down 19 weeks six days,” she said.
Ms Martin said it was hard to comprehend what pressures were brought to bear on women to abort a baby that had been moving for sometime.
“What thoughts have been put in her head to even consider this?” she said.
Ms Martin said while abortion supporters such as Victorian politician John Pandazopolous claimed “men should not be telling women what to do with their bodies” that should be seen to mean not pressuring abortions on them.
“He’s 100 per cent right they shouldn’t press women to have an abortion,” she said.
Ms Martin said however women couldn’t have it all their own way and had to recognise a man’s right to have input into what happened with his baby.
“Why is it when it’s half his DNA he has no say before a baby is born but once it is he is responsible for half of the child support?” she said.
Archbishop Hart has called on the community to choose life and reject abortion.
