QUEENSLAND’S prominent pro-life federal politicians shared a stage at Saturday’s March For Life rally promising to fight for the rights of the unborn and for vulnerable mothers.
Addressing a 3000 strong crowd at Speakers’ Corner outside the Queensland Parliament, LNP senator Matt Canavan said under existing abortion laws pregnancies were being terminated on the basis of gender and said he would introduce a bill to oppose the practice being funded by Medicare.
Assistant Women’s Minister, Senator Amanda Stoker said vulnerable women including rape victims must have “real choice” when faced with an unwanted pregnancy.
This included “knowing there is a loving community of people who are … prepared to help you through that difficulty” and adopting families “who would joyfully raise your child if you couldn’t”, Senator Stoker said.
She said there was “some irony that the people who will label you and me anti-woman for caring about the between 10,000 and 14,000 boys and girls who have no one to speak for them in their hour of need are the same people who often hit the streets for the humane treatment of animals.”
“Why would they not also defend the humane treatment of children? Friends, there is something very awry when we look around the world, when we look at some of the Nordic countries who boast they have eliminated from their populations conditions like Down syndrome because what they really mean is not that they cured a condition, but they have eliminated all of the people who are born with an extra chromosome.
“That is not humane, that is eugenics.”
Senator Canavan said he was inspired to draft a new bill relating to gender selection after hearing from an IVF doctor.
“He (the doctor) said that he had patients who have admitted to him that they have terminated pregnancies after they have had the gender of their baby revealed and that is wrong,” he said.
“I’m going to introduce a bill into the Parliament that will say there should be no Medicare funding of sex-selection abortions … because your taxes should not go to other parents trying to choose the gender of their babies.
“I reckon we have a chance here because I reckon even the lefties will support us because I’m told now by these lefties that I get to choose my gender, not my parents. So if that’s the case, we should not be funding parents being allowed to do that.”
Senator Canavan also announced at the March to Life rally that he would take over Queensland LNP MP George Christensen’s Children Born Alive Protection bill, if the Mackay-based politician holds firm on a decision to leave Federal parliament at the next election.
Abortion was legalised in Queensland in 2018.
