QUEENSLAND Premier Peter Beattie has renewed an assurance that his Government will not introduce a bill to liberalise abortion laws in the state.
Mr Beattie gave the assurance in a meeting with Catholic Labor MPs Terry Sullivan (Stafford) and Pat Purcell (Bulimba) on March 8.
Pro-life groups had warned of a pro-abortion bill, possibly in the first weeks of the new parliament.
The possibility of amending existing laws had also been raised on radio and television on March 8, International Women’s Day.
Parliament went into recess on March 8 and will resume on April 9.
Mr Purcell said he and Mr Sullivan had felt it was necessary to clear the air for the benefit of pro-lifers in caucus.
Mr Sullivan said Mr Beattie had restated his policy announced four years ago that his Government would not introduce a bill to liberalise abortion.
Mr Sullivan also said there was no evidence that a private member’s bill to legalise or decriminalise abortion was pending from anyone on the Government or Opposition benches.
Right to Life Australia spokeswoman, Liz Preston, said it and other pro-life groups – Human Life International and the Right to Life Association Queensland – had combined to mount the campaign for a number of reasons.
There had been calls over several weeks to liberalise abortion laws and the groups knew some MPs wanted abortion on demand.
The groups were also motivated by what had happened in Tasmania, where the parliament was recalled before Christmas to pass the liberalisation of abortion laws.
