“We now have a major party that is against abortion up til birth – that is One Nation,” Professor Joanna Howe told a rally outside the NSW Parliament last night.
Introducing Mike Newman from One Nation, Howe said, “This is the man I am endorsing for Premier of NSW.”
Newman declared, “We want to make sure that abortion rights – we want to stop it. We want to make sure that same sex. I’m sorry, abortion is stopped. We want to make sure that people have the right to life, and we will vote for you in favour of that. But we also want to create an economy where [if] you give birth [to] a child, you have a future to look forward to, to look after them in the right way and have a real powerful choice. We’re so sick of politicians who care only about one thing and that is their job.”
Newman followed earlier speakers, John Ruddick from the Libertarians, whose bill to make sex selection abortion illegal is likely to be voted on today and Mark Banasiak from the Shooters, Fishers and Farmers Party. At present, health regulations ban sex selected abortions, but Ruddick’s bill introduces penalities including jail for doctors and other health practitioners.
Leading the rally in chants, Howe made it clear which party the crowd of a couple of thousand should support. Not Labour or the Greens. Not the Nationals unless they switch their vote to support Ruddick’s bill. Not the Liberals if they retain a conscience vote – Howe wants a party policy against abortion.
Howe was careful in choosing her words in describing One Nation as a party opposing abortion “up til birth”. That means supporting gestational limits, in the recent South Australian Bill that was 24 weeks, 6 days. One Nation is on the record as opposing sex selection abortion, care for live birth babies after abortion, and strong concientious objection provisions.
Newman at the rally was less careful. Newman’s declaration to “stop abortion” went further than his party policy. UPDATE: Newman has backed away from his comments desiring them as ‘foot in mouth.”
The SMH reported “Newman told News24, formerly Sky, that he “misspoke” at the rally, insisting One Nation was only against
‘sex-selective abortion and late-term abortion’. However, while admitting he did not know how many late-term or sex-selective abortions were performed in NSW, Newman claimed without evidence that there were ‘stories of babies being left in petri dishes to die’.
“‘It’s not about a blanket ban,‘ he said. “I guess I spoke out of turn. I own it that I incorrectly sort of put that forward … call it a foot-in-the-mouth moment.’”
As far as The Other Cheek is aware, the only party officially seeking to ban abortion (by incremental stages) is Family First.
Image: Professor Joanna Howe. Image credit: The Catholic Weekly