abortion in victoria
i read in the age last week about the lower house parliamentary debate for the conscious vote to take abortion of the crimes act. in short, to decriminalize abortion. i was surprised by who voted aye and who noe, especially the relatively high number of labour ministers against the bill. interestingly, the strangest reason for not wanting to pass the vote, by the usually-progressive-but-possibly-suffering-from-a-brain-explosion mr robert hulls, was that 'there would be more abortions in victoria' as a result of the change in status.
call me crazy, but is this just wonky reasoning? when you really think about it.
i'd really like to ask mr hulls if knowing that abortions might be not-illegal (as opposed to legal), whether he thought about getting one? it's not like decriminalising smack or porn, or whatever else they've done for the big boys of parliament, you know. i don't know if some of our parliamentarians know this, but you only consider getting an abortion if you're pregnant. and it's never a question of whether it's available or not. maybe in the 1940s (even then...). the main influence over whether women get an abortion or not, is hardly legal. in fact, i reckon if you asked most women who were pregnant and considering having an abortion, the legality of the act probably comes after ethics/moral, emotional stability, relationship stability, financial stability, whether the sex was consensual, whether they feel fit to be a parent.... do you see what i'm getting at? a moral issue, not a legal one.
btw, the best quote was actually from a nationals member, jacqui, who said "when people say 'who will speak for the baby', i usually say, well, the mother really. and we have to let the mother make the choices she needs to'". or something close to that [age.com.au made it very hard to find the original article].
it's being debated in the upper house over the next little while, so if you're particularly passionate about the subject (which most women should be, on either side of the fence), don't forget to keep an eye out for news, or let your local senator know. mr fielding from the family first party is one of my local senators. i can't imagine him and i agreeing on the subject, so my emails to him will be interesting indeed.
important links:
abortion services in victoria: better health channel victoria
association for legal rights to abortion in victoria
women's health victoria abortion information package
lifeline
family planning victoria
rachelmckay - pro-choice motherfucking proud
4 comments:
does not a sense of legality also constitue a moral issue?
There was some research in the US that suggested that when abortion laws were well publisised and introduced this had affect on teen pregancies. there were less of them. Of course it could have no corralation at all, but it was credited to the framing of the law.
Most people like to think of themselves as law abiding. Framed right it could have an effect either way.
U are right to say that abortions are not a legal matter but a moral one, but perhaps this mr Hulls was thinking more upstream, with regards to the cause of abortions, intercourse gone wrong.
This is all on the basis of it being consensual and all.
18.09.08 5:01
oh how the residue of
Howards 1950's style of
politics still lingers
"...its 2008 ahh you think
we should take abortion off
the crimes act?"
yeah right,
as if....geeze
tampons and pads
still have GST and
sit under
the title of luxury goods!
this country....
if we're not committing
a crime we're
living a life of luxury!
E>L
isn't the current debate more controversial than the usual abortion debate because what they are talking about is late term abortions?
Whats also interesting is the link between legalised abortion and reduced crime rates in the US.
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