A bill to amend abortion rights in South Australia that has been described as “Trumpian”, “extreme” and “dangerous” was just one vote away from passing in the state’s parliament last night.
Liberal MP Ben Hood introduced the proposed legislation to the Legislative Council last month as a private member’s bill. The amendments, if passed, would have forced pregnant people seeking an abortion from 28 weeks to be induced and to deliver the baby alive. They would then be given the choice to keep the baby or to put it up for adoption.
The bill was debated in the South Australian parliament for three hours last night before a vote of conscience was called. This means members could vote without following party lines.
Ten members voted against the bill, and nine voted in favour.
In his speech to the chamber to begin the debate, Ben Hood said the bill was “not about taking away a woman’s rights or limiting her autonomy”: rather, it was about “drawing a clear and humane line once a baby reaches viability at 28 weeks”.
Supporters of the bill echoed this idea that the rights of both mother and child would be protected under the proposed legislation.
Liberal MLC Dennis Hood described the bill as a “compassionate response for both baby and mother”.
“This bill is intended to strike a balance, I think very importantly, between respecting a woman’s right to terminate a pregnancy while protecting the life of a baby that would almost certainly survive outside of the womb,” he said.
Similarly, Labor LMC Clare Scriven said a “strong message” in the pro-life camp is to “love both” mother and child.
On the other hand, opponents of the bill, including Attorney-General Kyam Maher, did not hold back their furious concerns over the messages embedded in the proposed “Trumpian” legislation.
“This bill is not based on evidence, it’s insulting to women and girls and above all it’s dangerous in how it plays politics with the health and wellbeing of women,” the Attorney-General said.
Connie Bonaros from the SA Best party said no one has the “right to cast judgement” on women seeking abortions, “unless and until we’ve walked in (their) shoes”.
“You do not wake up one day and decide, ‘I no longer want to be carrying this baby’ at that late term and expect to turn up at a specialist clinic and say ‘get this out of me’ and have a specialist say ‘OK, let’s go’,” Bonaros said.
“Unfortunately, that has been the sort of public message that has been sold in this debate.”
Abortion has been decriminalised in South Australia since the Termination of Pregnancy Act passed parliament in 2021. After 22 weeks and six days, people seeking to terminate their pregnancy must receive approval from two doctors on whether the termination is medically appropriate.
‘Eternally vigilant’
Both pro-choice and pro-life protestors gathered outside of Parliament House awaiting the decision on the bill. Activists opposing the bill dressed as women from Margaret Atwood’s novel The Handmaid’s Tale – a story set in a dystopian society where women’s reproductive lives are controlled by the government.
A key organiser of demonstrations against Ben Hood’s bill is Fair Agenda, and on the back of what happened in Parliament House yesterday, Executive Director Renee Carr knows anti-choice politicians and groups will be back.
“Those of us who care about reproductive justice and freedom have to be eternally vigilant,” Carr told Women’s Agenda, “and keep mobilising to defend the rights we have fought so hard to achieve in recent years.
“That includes making sure any candidates asking for your vote reflect your values when it comes to safe, legal and compassionate access to abortion care.”
Carr said the decision to access abortion and reproductive health care should lie with health professionals, and not politicians.
“That’s particularly important in the complex and distressing circumstances in which a woman might need to access abortion care later in pregnancy,” Carr said.
“The Bill would have banned compassionate care options in cases of a devastating diagnosis, like a fatal foetal abnormality. It also had the potential to mean a woman who needs abortion care at this stage because her own health is at risk would be subjected to unnecessary procedures like a cesarean section.
“It essentially amounted to forced birth.”
According to statistics from SA Health, less than five people had pregnancies terminated after 27 weeks in the 18 months after abortion was decriminalised in 2021.
Repealing abortion rights laws ‘as quick as you like’
As debates about women’s reproductive rights in the US ramp up ahead of the election, the debate has filtered into Australian politics.
Elsewhere around the country, Queensland politicians are making their position on abortion clear, as Queenslanders prepare to head to the polls at the end of the month.
Earlier this week, Robbie Katter, the head of the conservative Katter’s Australian Party vowed to introduce a bill to repeal the state’s abortion laws “quick as you like”.
Meanwhile, in a debate between Queensland Labor Premier Steven Miles and LNP leader David Crisafulli on Wednesday night, the Liberal leader did not make clear whether he would allow a conscience vote on reproductive rights, if elected. Contrastingly, the Premier reiterated his pro-choice position.