CATHOLIC Social Services Australia (CSSA) has criticised a private member’s bill on pregnancy counselling for failing to address key issues of pregnancy support.
CSSA has made a submission to a Senate committee looking into the Government’s $50 million package for counselling services for pregnant women in a bid to reduce the abortion rate.
The committee is considering whether the legislation can ensure pregnancy services are objective and with information about all options.
The CSSA submission said the bill ignored the fact that most pregnancy counselling was unrelated to abortion.
Other issues raised by the CSSA submission include an inadequate definition of pregnancy counselling services, which would include “all medical practitioners, hospitals and many other services including natural family programs”.
Catholic Health Australia, in a separate submission, said the Church conducted up to 15 per cent of Australia’s health care systems and was the major private provider of acute obstetric and gynaecological services.
“As the bill currently stands, the definition of a pregnancy counselling service involves ‘the provision of advice or information services to women … regarding options in relation to pregnancy, child birth or termination of pregnancy’.”
“We consider this definition to be too broad in its scope.”
A range of other community groups and individuals have presented more than 80 submissions to the Senate committee.
The Transparent Advertising and Notification of Pregnancy Counselling Services Bill 2005 was tabled by Senator Natasha Stott-Despoja of the Australian Democrats, following the debate over RU486 late last year.
