 |
Tas abortion legislation avoids difficult questions
Less than 1 week left to make a submission into bill to remove funding for sex-selection abortions
ACL welcomes new laws in ACT protecting sexual exploitation of youth
Media fails to report on murder trial of doctor who ran abortion clinics in US
Tell the PM & Treasurer: “Don’t Divert Aid”
Mark Spencer on the Political Spot about national school funding reform
Wendy Francis on the Political Spot about Qld investigating G-Rated outdoor advertising
Steve Thomas talks about utilitarianism on the Political Spot
ACL’s Jim Wallace writes in the Illawarra Mercury
Steve Mosher to Speak at World Congress of Families in Sydney
ACL Tasmania Conference 2013
Monthly Newsletter – April 2013
Vote Compass: What are the election issues that matter to you?
In the media – a wrap up of the last week’s commentary
 |
 |
 |
 |
A bill to legalise abortion to birth, even in cases of a healthy mum and bub, passed the Tasmanian lower house this week.
This was despite members supporting the bill describing abortion as ‘traumatic for women’.
Surely we are not that unimaginative as a society that we could not come up with better alternatives to abortion?
The policy conversation needs to be changed from terminating unborn babies to practically supporting women who find themselves with an unsupported pregnancy. I’m sure we can do better for women and their unborn children.
Another worrying factor of the bill was its trampling of freedom of conscience and freedom of expression.
Counsellors who refuse to refer a woman for abortion can be fined $32,500 under the bill (originally this was $65,000 before an amendment was introduced). Given how the legislation defines counsellors, one doesn’t see how this would not also include pastors or priests.
Protesting outside an abortion clinic is made illegal with a 12 month jail term as punishment.
Proponents of abortion ideology are now using the coercive power of the law to suppress conscience and peaceful protest.
In what other free country is the right to protest a contentious social issue banned?
This should be a wake-up call to us all.
The bill still has to clear the hurdle of Tasmania’s upper house where the numbers are much tighter.
Meanwhile, across the Tasman, the New Zealand Parliament has voted to redefine marriage.
This does not mean same-sex marriage is inevitable in Australia.
Last year’s debate revealed to parliamentarians that this is a media-driven issue with very little resonance amongst mainstream voters. (Recent media reports suggest the bill was narrowly defeated when in actual fact it was a substantial victory 98-42 in the house of representatives).
Nothing is inevitable in politics, just as recent changes of heart about forced adoptions and forced removal of indigenous children have shown.
Thanks for your continuing support of ACL. Now more than ever, we need to continue to speak into politics and culture, something we are committed to doing.
God bless,
Lyle Shelton
Chief of Staff

|
 |