Recently, Tanja Kovac (national co-ordinator of EMILY's List Australia) published an article titled 'The hypocrisy of pro lifers' in which she took aim at Babette Francis (Endeavour Forum), Margaret Tighe (Right to Life Australia) and Archbishop Hart. The article was riddled with more ludicrous misinformation that is so often used to target pro life advocates.
Babette's response
Used with permission.
When a friend told me I was mentioned in The Punch, I looked forward to reading the article because I associated The Punch with Punch, the British weekly magazine of humour. Instead of wit, I found the article by Tanja Kovac in The Punch yet another inaccurate diatribe against pro-lifers.
Tanja asks where are Archbishop Hart, Margaret Tighe and Babette Francis? Archbishop Hart is very possibly on his knees praying for you and for the many social welfare agencies of his Archdiocese.
Tanja, just look up the phone book under “Catholic” and you will see the long list of activities undertaken by the Catholic Church to help those in need. Ever heard of “The Vinnies” (the St. Vincent de Paul Society)? Or Mother Teresa’s “Missionaries of Charity”? As for Margaret Tighe, like me she is probably working at a computer replying to tiresome articles from those who don’t bother to get their facts straight.
Incidentally, Margaret Tighe’s Right to Life Australia funds the longest-running 24-hour pregnancy counseling service in this country, Pregnancy Counseling Australia. This service is funded by pro-lifers, unlike abortion clinics, which are subsidised by get taxpayers.
Now to deal with Tanja’s inaccuracies - first of all, Ted Baillieu is not pro-life. He voted for the Abortion Law Reform Bill 2008, so don’t blame us for what he does.
Secondly, it was former Federal Treasurer Peter Costello (who incidentally was my local federal MP) who initiated the baby bonus being paid to ALL mothers. Because this was a payment that was non-discriminatory between mothers in the paid workforce and unwaged mothers at home, Emily’s List feminists have been frothing at the mouth ever since and have been determined to end its non-discriminatory nature.
Lo and behold, once they got their very own Emily’s List candidate installed as Prime Minister in The Lodge, the discrimination between career mothers and unwaged mothers began. The latter get $3,000 less than career mothers do via Paid Parental Leave.
All mothers need baby-sitting on occasion, and it is not surprising that with the lower payments they get in the baby bonus, unwaged mothers need a low-cost baby-sitting option. Possibly the Baillieu government considered it unfair that career mothers, who get their child care subsidised by the federal government, was taking advantage of the “Take a Break Occasional Child Care”.
Career mothers may have wrecked it for everyone.
More importantly, many mothers - whether career mums or unwaged mums - do not want to put their infants in collective child care because of the risk of picking up colds, flu and gastro, but prefer to have them cared for in their homes.
My organisation, Endeavour Forum Inc, has consistently lobbied for all child care funding and subsidies to be paid direct to mothers so they can choose the kind of child care they prefer. It is ironic that feminists who are so big on “choice” when they demand the right to terminate the lives of their fetuses, are opposed to choice in child care funding or education.
Child care funding paid directly to mothers would reduce a lot of bureaucratic costs and “churning”.
Finally, many pro-lifers work with or financially support The Helpers, a group who offer assistance outside abortion clinics to pregnant women. This assistance ranges from offers of accommodation or financial assistance to pay off car loans, rent or other necessities.
Try it for yourself, Tanja, go outside an abortion clinic and see the kindness and assistance on offer by The Helpers, unlike the abortionists who don’t want to know you once they have your money.
Moreover, pro-lifers don’t ignore the sad cases of women traumatised by their abortions - counseling and help is available for them also. Tanja Kovacs needs to take more responsibility for getting her facts accurate instead of labeling pro-lifers as hypocrites for decisions made by a pro-abortion politician.
