http://smh.com.au/news/National/Churches-move-against-lateterm-
abortions/2005/02/01/1107228700718.html
http://tinyurl.com/69a4o
Churches move against late-term abortions
By Linda Morris, Stephanie Peatling and Connie Levett
February 2, 2005
The nation's religious leaders will flex their political and financial
muscle through their backing of a new anti-abortion lobby as the Prime
Minister refused yesterday to curtail the late-term abortion debate.
A working committee has been established by 12 religious leaders to
consider funding of research into the physical and psychological
effects of abortion and the shape of a future political and community
campaign.
But they have stepped back from pushing for an outright ban.
Their campaign will call for a ban on aborting foetuses more than 20
weeks old in a concession that they have yet to win over the public.
Speaking in Singapore, Mr Howard said: "I think some of the ideas
being put forward about providing people with assistance in relation
to choices, I think they're good. It's good to look at the issues from
a practical positive point of view rather than an argumentative one.
"You can't have a situation where every time someone expresses a view
they are jumped upon from a great height," he said. "This is
Australia."
Marg Kirkby, a spokeswoman for the Women's Abortion Action Campaign,
said the formation of a religious lobby was worrying for women's
choice but church leaders had declining influence among the public and
were "flogging a dead horse".
"The reality is a lot of people in different religions are ignoring
what their leaders are saying and are voting with their feet."
Anglican, Catholic, Baptist, Presbyterian, Buddhist, Hindu, Lutheran,
Sikh, Salvation Army, Wesleyan and Seventh-Day Adventist churches all
signed a statement issued yesterday opposing late-term abortions.
The statement calls for all women considering abortion to be told of
the health risks, the stage of foetal development and the nature of
the medical procedure, and to be given seven days to reconsider their
decision.
The law should explicitly protect any viable foetus older than 20
weeks, it says. The anti-abortion statement has been sent to the Prime
Minister, all premiers and the anti-abortionist Health Minister, Tony
Abbott.
The National Party leader in the Senate, Ron Boswell, has also asked
that Mr Abbott disclose the number and nature of abortions in
Australia, information that would in effect amount to an inquiry into
abortion.
Senator Boswell has asked for any research linking women who have had
abortions with higher rates of breast cancer or mental illness, as
well as the statistical profile of women who have had abortions,
including age, income, marital status, number of children, location
and the reason they sought the procedure.
Any suggestion of a private member's bill was "a long way down the
track", Senator Boswell said.
The Victorian Premier, Steve Bracks, said he would not co-operate with
the request for information on abortions in his state.
A spokesman for the NSW Health Minister, Morris Iemma, said a request
for state figures would be considered in the "usual way".
The Anglican Bishop of North Sydney, Glenn Davies, said the churches
were aiming to reach out to the community over the coming months.
"We don't want to stay on the sideline and mouth moralisms, we want to
be there to help people because we believe the life of the mother and
the child are important," he said.
The Catholic Auxiliary Bishop of Sydney, Julian Porteous, said all
faiths agreed that life was sacred from the moment of conception, and
the campaign against late-term abortions was a "starting point".
Church support and funding for a think tank was "a real possibility",
as was a high-profile advertising campaign.
--
epicurus1*at*optusnet*dot*com*dot*au
apatriot #1, atheist #1417,
Chief EAC prophet
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Sunday: A day given over by Americans to wishing that they themselves
were dead and in Heaven, and that their neighbors were dead and in
Hell.
-Mencken
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