Professor Joanna Howe says her encounter with Jing Lee before abortion vote was ‘very cordial’ and ended with a selfie

Prominent pro-life advocate Professor Joanna Howe has opened up about her encounter with a Liberal MP that led to the abortion vote chaos. Read the text message.

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Prominent pro-life advocate Professor Joanna Howe says her encounter with Liberal MLC Jing Lee before a controversial abortion reform vote was “very cordial” – and Ms Lee followed up with a message of thanks.

Dr Howe has opened up about a 10-minute meeting the two had at Parliament House, which led Ms Lee to withdraw from a pair agreement she had with colleague Michelle Lensink.

In an emotional speech to parliament this week, Ms Lee apologised for her withdrawal and said an “unexpected encounter with a very persistent visitor” had left her feeling “very vulnerable”.

Jing Lee and Joanna Howe in a selfie at Parliament House on the night of the abortion vote.

A text exchange, supplied by Joanna Howe, between her and Jing Lee on the night on the abortion vote.

“I wasn’t thinking clearly and was put into a compromising situation,” she said.

Ms Lee did not name the visitor but Dr Howe – a key architect of the bill – confirmed the pair had spoken during parliament’s dinner break.

Dr Howe said they had discussed the implications of Ms Lee’s decision to abstain from voting under the pair arrangement.

“I let her know that if she did this, it would be the reason the bill would not proceed to committee stage, and explained how I understood each member to be voting,” Dr Howe said.

“I told Jing there is no parliamentary convention or Liberal Party rule requiring a pair on a conscience vote.”

Ms Lee, in her speech, said “grave concern” for her preselection led her to abandon the pair in the hours before the vote.

Dr Howe said she had warned Ms Lee she would hold her to account if she went ahead with the pair.

“I said that I would use my platform to do everything in my power to convince preselectors not to vote for her,” she said.

She said, by the end of the conversation, Ms Lee had agreed to reneg on the pair and cast her vote in support of the bill.

“I thanked her, we hugged, took a selfie and later Jing texted to thank me for speaking to her about this,” she said.

In that message exchange, supplied to The Advertiser by Dr Howe, Ms Lee said “thank you for seizing the moment to speak to me during dinner break!”

Dr Howe said the conversation “very cordial” and happened in a communal area of Parliament House.

Under pairing arrangements, when an MP is on leave another MP with opposing views will agree to sit out the vote, ensuring the absence does not affect the final result.

Ms Lee’s withdrawal forced Ms Lensink, who is on long-term sick leave, and her young son to make a late-night dash to Parliament House in an Uber.

But, at the last minute, fellow Liberal Dennis Hood agreed to step in and act as pair.

The bill, which had been introduced by Liberal MLC Ben Hood and would have required women seeking abortions after 28 weeks to deliver their babies alive, was then defeated 10-9.

Originally published as Professor Joanna Howe says her encounter with Jing Lee before abortion vote was ‘very cordial’ and ended with a selfie