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Anglican Minister, Dr Mark Durie, has expressed concern about babies being born alive during late term abortion procedures and left  to die and has challenged the Victorian Government to 'come clean' on what is happening in Melbourne clinics and hospitals.

According to The Age (Oct 7, 2010), Dr. Durie said that "staff were finding it hard to cope with a reported six-fold increase in late-term abortions at the Women's since abortion was decriminalised in Victoria two years ago" and that "because conscientious objection by medical staff was now illegal, the hospital could employ only people who endorsed late-term abortions".

Dr. Durie described a trainee (not at The Royal Women's) as being "deeply traumatised when she was told to drop a living foetus in a bucket of formaldehyde".

A spokeswoman for the Royal Women's Hospital commented, that "no staff were ever required to perform or assist in any procedure contrary to their own conscience or beliefs". However, Jennifer Keyte reported on Channel 7 in April this year  that the midwives and doctors at The Royal Women's were, in fact, also "traumatised  by having to perform so many and are unhappy that other hospitals were not equipped or refused to perform late term abortion." Ms Keyte was referring to the six hundred percent increase since the 2008 decriminalisation of abortion in Victoria.

According to The Age, Dr. Durie calls on the state government to answer five questions about late-term abortions:

"■ How many are happening, and how late?

■ What are the reasons for the abortions?

■ Are those born alive receiving medical care, or what is their cause of death?

■ What has been the effect on staff morale at the Royal Women's Hospital?

■ What has been the effect on staff recruitment?"

Around June this year, DLP MP Peter Kavanagh also called for an investigation into these babies being born alive. The motion was lost 27 votes to nine, after ALP MP's were instructed to vote against it.

Mr Kavanagh stated "My motion was simply a call to investigate the deaths of babies.  The fact that these babies have been born alive after 'failed' abortions seems to mean that abortion staff think that those babies do not have a right to live.  Even after they have been born alive."

Mr Kavanagh said that "the vote suggested that unfortunately it was also the attitude of a majority of Victoria's politicians" .

"Brian Tee and Gayle Tierney for the ALP, together with Colleen Hartland for the Greens launched a coordinated personal attack on me. All of them asserted facts which were contradicted by the very documents to which they referred. They did not even read the motion they were arguing against!" Mr Kavanagh said.

"I was told by several distressed ALP MP's that they had to vote against my motion.  They said that the ALP decided to vote against the proposed investigation because it did not want anything at all that even hinted at abortion to be mentioned at the time of the election" Mr Kavanagh said.

It is not surprising then that The Age article also reported that no figures had been officially released since abortion was decriminalised in 2008. Dr. Durie believes that this is ''because of the deep ethical conflict involved, there will be pressure to suppress the reality of what is going on." Peter Kavanagh has suggested otherwise.

Dr Durie rightly said the public have every right to know that "even in 2007, 52 babies survived late-term abortions, according to government figures. In some clinics they had simply been put on a shelf and left to die".

Minister Durie also expressed his concern in the article that "most people became midwives because they loved seeing children born" He said 'I find it hard to comprehend that staff can go from working to rescue a 27-week-old foetus in one hour, and the next hour delivering another one dead.''

The Age said that Archdeacon Alison Taylor told them at the time, that The Anglican diocese backed decriminalising abortion in the Victorian Law Reform Commission review in 2007,  because "in some circumstances, such as foetal abnormality, abortion was the ''the least problematic solution''. However, perinatal statistics from the Victorian Government in 2005 revealed that of the 309 post 20 week abortion performed, 180 were for "psycho social" reasons, in other words... on perfectly healthy babies.

 Health Department spokesman, Bram Alexander, said "it was the job of the Consultative Council on Obstetric and Paediatric Mortality and Morbidity to monitor trends and data, and its 2008 report would be released before the end of 2010".  Liberal MP, Bernie Finn, believes that this information is being withheld until after the Victorian state election. He said that "the last thing this Government wants is this information about abortion to be known before election day - this government is living in fear of what the public will do to them if the truth comes out about what is happening in this state."  

This Sunday marks the second anniversary of the passing of what are the most extreme abortion laws in the western world. Thousands will again gather and march through the Melbourne CBD on Saturday morning to send a message to the Victorian ALP Government and others who supported this legislation - that it is unacceptable. 

Life Vote are also encouraging Victorian voters to find out how their member voted on the abortion Bill of 2008, and to vote for candidates that do not support this barbaric legislation, but who value protection for babies, women and families.

It is vital that protection for all babies (and women) be reinstated by law.