Faith-based health organisations and individuals will face a moral dilemma of directly participalting in abortion services or leaving their jobs, if a bill before the NSW parliament is passed, according to a statement by the Anglican Church Diocese of Sydney Social Issues Committee (SIC), and Archbishop Kanishka Raffel. His Archepiscopal colleague Anthony Fisher led a protest against the bill last week (Pictured).
If passed, the Abortion Law Reform Amendment (Health Care Access) Bill 2025, will would allow the Minister of Health to mandate public health organisations to provide abortion services. It would also require health practitioners who object to abortion on moral grounds to transfer patients to others who will perform the procedure.
Existing legislation simply asks medical practitioners who do not wish to provide abortions to refer patients to the NSW Health website which gives information on where to get an abortion. The Other Cheek asked Sandy Grant, the Dean of Sydney and the chair of the SIC, how the new Bill would change this.
“Quoting from the Bill’s explanatory statement, the medical practitioner with a conscientious objection must now directly: ‘transfer the person’s care to — (i) another registered health practitioner who, in the first practitioner’s reasonable belief, can provide the requested service and does not have a conscientious objection to the performance of the termination, or (ii) a health service provider at which, in the practitioner’s reasonable belief, the requested service can be provided by another registered health practitioner who does not have a conscientious objection to the performance of the termination.'”
This means that anti abortion doctors would need to provide a formal referral.
Sandy Grant explained which hospitals might be told they must provide abortions for The Other Cheek. “It would certainly, as far as I understand, impact Catholic Hospitals such as St Vincent’s or the Mater. I do not know the policy position of the SDAs on this, but if it was conservative on sanctity of life matters, it might also impact the San at Wahroonga.”
The Sydney Anglicans conclude “These amendments infringe on faith-based freedoms. Faith-based health organisations and individuals must be free to operate according to their religious beliefs. The Bill would force them to either participate directly in abortion services or refer patients to others, presenting a moral dilemma for many. If enacted, this could force Christian health professionals and organisations to break the law, violate their convictions, or leave their roles.”
And the promotion prospects of those opposed to abortion will be lessened. “The Bill also risks creating employment disadvantages for medical practitioners. Wherever abortion services are mandated, job interviews are increasingly likely to scrutinise candidates’ views on abortion. Medical professionals, many of whom oppose abortion on moral grounds, should not face discrimination for their beliefs.”
The Anglicans urge both major parties to oppose the bill.
Image: Catholic Archbishop Anthony Fisher OP lead a protest against the bill last weekend.