According to The Daily Telegraph, the Shooters and Fishers and The Christian Democratic Party "now hold ultimate power over Mr O’Farrell" and were "not afraid" to use their hold on the balance of power in the Legislative Council to forward their aims. Nile "said he wanted abortion laws refined and would expect the Coalition’s support".
Ms Gleeson and Ms Pringle are correct in saying that "The NSW Greens have been making noises for some time about changing the legal position of abortion along the lines of the ACT or Victoria model." The "Victorian model", passed in 2008 has resulted in a 600% increase in late term abortions at The Royal Women's Hospital in Melbourne. The cruel intent of this Victorian legislation was made evident through the rejection of some sixty amendments designed to protect women, including: parental consent for underage girls; requirement to report suspected sexual abuse; anaesthetic for babies being aborted late term; support/counselling for women; banning of partial birth abortions (banned in the U.S); the right to conscientious objection for doctors; and a cooling off period for women considering late term abortion.
Ms Gleeson and Ms Pringle have gone to great lengths to convince readers that an MP's position on abortion does not influence how constituents vote: "It is also clear from the 2010 Victorian election results that there were no significant repercussions from the abortion debate on the electoral performance of individual candidates or of the parties. No one lost their seat because of support for pro-abortion reform. The Victorian Liberal leader Ted Baillieu and his deputy Louise Asher both supported, publicly and with some passion, the Brumby abortion reform bill, support that did not damage their performance or that of their party in the 2010 poll. Members of Parliament should know that they need not fear electoral retribution for their position on abortion, wherever it falls on the spectrum."
The authors of this article incorrectly believe that "Abortion reform is perhaps the chief item on which O’Farrell cannot make bargains or promises, because he cannot deliver on behalf of his party. This is because the Coalition has a policy of allowing a conscience vote on this issue. That is, individual members are permitted to vote in the way their consciences dictate or guide them, and not according to any party platform."
However, Bernie Finn, Victorian Liberal MP, who was involved in the abortion reform debate in Victoria (2008) stated that "If the Coalition had been in power, the abortion legislation would never have been passed". Indeed, the majority of the Victorian LNP opposed the abortion legislation (with their conscience votes) - and then supported amendments to the legislation.
Right to Life Australia's Margaret Tighe was creditted with being 'Victoria's most powerful woman' by The Tasmanian Times, who said that "She may have been single-handedly responsible for the defeat of the Brumby government." Six of the Victorian MPs that RTLA targetted (for supporting Brumby's abortion legislation) were defeated at the polls, including (EMILY's Lister)Maxine Morand who tabled the abortion legislation. Ms Morand was aware of RTLA's threat to her seat and she distributed her own leaflets in response to the pro life campaign run against her. Her worst fears were realised.
The two authors claim to "have found no evidence that opinions about abortion are a significant determinant, or indicator, of voter choice anywhere in Australia", but then immediately make reference to a report released by the Australian Family Association 'What Queenslanders Really Think about Abortion', which found that a 12 per cent would be generated against Queensland MPs who voted to decriminalise abortion. MP's only need to consider the demise of those targetted by Right to Life Australia in the Victorian election to be wary of this poor advice and MP's who ignore the strong message that was heard by Victorian politicians, do so at their own peril.
Life Network Australia looks forward to scrutinising the "forthcoming research" mentioned in the article. This research is said to address the claims of "an electoral backlash against MPs who vote in favour of pro-abortion reforms" that the authors of this article believe "simply do not stand up in the face of the evidence". We suspect that it will have as many flaws as the recent "research" published by the AMA and throughout Australian newspapers, that supposedly proved that Australians support late term abortion. This survey that was written by none other than abortion provider, Lachlan De Crespigny and Julian Savulescu, also known for his extreme views on abortion.
Next were comments about conscience votes: "Many feminists used to claim that the conscience vote stood in the way of abortion reform, with Labor women vigorously contesting the classing of abortion as a moral or conscience question, and arguing that abortion should be the subject of party policy and discipline like any other issue". Indeed the tide certainly has changed, perhaps through the intimidation of men by the ALP women's political group 'EMILY's List', who have had some 144 women voted into parliaments around Australia and who require candidates to be pro choice to receive their endorsement. The rhetoric of "My body, my choice" seems to have male politicians quaking in their boots at even the thought of voting against the decriminalisation of abortion. Or perhaps they have been convinced that abortion is what women really want.
"(Mr Nile's) muscle flexing is a carefully crafted show of bluster for the crowds, all sound and fury but signifying not much at all" - ....If the Victorian election is anything to go by, we will see!!
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