Piers Akerman: Gladys Berejiklian has lost sight of humanity in abortion debate
The debate over the rushed abortion legislation would indicate NSW Premier Gladys Berejiklian is either extremely ill-advised or has lost touch with her base. She’s certainly lost sight of integrity, humility and humanity, Piers Akerman writes.
Opinion
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Good governance requires more than economic savvy. Gladys Berejiklian has lost sight of integrity, humility and humanity.
The debate over the rushed abortion legislation would indicate that the NSW Premier is either extremely ill-advised or has lost touch with her base — in much the same manner as former federal Opposition leader Bill Shorten turned his back on Labor’s traditional supporters and lost the unlosable May election.
Ms Berejiklian has fallen for the beguiling calls of feminists and spokesmen for what is clearly an abortion industry. She is not awake to the stupidity of being “woke”.
Politicians, including such flag bearers of the so-called progressive movement as former US Secretary of State Hillary Clinton, have long stated that abortion should be “safe, legal and rare”.
Ms Berejiklian not only accepted a truly repugnant Bill drafted by activist independent MP Alex Greenwich, she and Health Minister Brad Hazzard ensured that it was speedily introduced and rushed through the Lower House on August 8 by a vote of 59 to 31.
Under current law, abortion is legal if a doctor determines that a woman’s physical or mental health is in danger, and mental health has been held to include economic or social stress.
Under the proposed legislation, abortion would be permitted for any reason up to 22 weeks of pregnancy and then up to full term if two doctors believe it should be performed after consideration of physical, social, and psychological circumstances.
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The Roman Catholic Archbishop of Sydney, Archbishop Anthony Fisher, has rightly highlighted the lack of basic concerns for human values in the legislation.
“If a civilisation is to be judged by how it treats its weakest members, NSW failed spectacularly today,” he said.
“(The bill) still allows abortion right up to birth.
“It conscripts all medical practitioners and institutions into the abortion industry by requiring them to perform abortions themselves or direct women to an abortion provider.
“It still does nothing to protect mothers or their unborn children or to give them real alternatives.”
It does not mandate any counselling or period of consideration for the woman, and it would require doctors with conscientious objections to refer women to other abortion providers.
Members of Ms Berejiklian’s own cabinet expressed concerns the “rushed” legislation would open the floodgates to abortion for any reason including sex-selective terminations.
According to the NSW Premier, the NSW Chief Obstetrician (whom she did not identify) has said that there is no evidence of sex-selection abortions taking place in NSW, however it must be assumed that the Chief OB’s role is that of a clinician and is not an investigative undertaking.
As there are claims that sex-selective abortions have taken place in Victoria, it would seem highly improbable that they have not occurred in NSW.
Typically, spineless lower house MPs did not support a ban on the abhorrent practice but supported a review to take place within a year.
The review received more than 13,000 submissions online in less than a week, causing the NSW parliament website to crash.
Though the abbreviated time for submissions has already expired, Ms Berejiklian needs reminding that they came from voters.
Archbishop Fisher is not the only religious leader to express dismay at the legislation and the manner in which it was rushed through the lower house with prominent Anglican, Coptic, Maronite and Jewish representatives complaining about the lack of consultation and the trivialisation of human life.
Broadcaster Alan Jones has suggested that Ms Berejiklian and her advisers believed the March state election was going to result in a hung parliament and had started making promises to independents, including Mr Greenwich, to get their support in the days prior to the poll.
“There’s a secret deal done with Alex Greenwich on this abortion Bill and Alex Greenwich is now holding the Government to it,” he said.
To put it mildly, the lack of discussion, the hasty vote, even the Premier’s absence during this period, stinks.
The debate, as NSW Police Minister David Elliott has said, has descended into the gutter.
What has been lost sight of in this rancorous argument is the innate sanctity of life.
Gladys, it would seem we hardly know you.
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