Abortion scaremongering

On August 8, a British documentary titled My Foetus, depicting the abortion of a four-week-old foetus, will screen on the ABC. In the July 10 Daily Telegraph, NSW lead Senate candidate for the Socialist Alliance, Kylie Moon, was asked to comment on the screening. The following was her response.

I am not in favour of censorship of this documentary. I am, however, concerned that the anti-abortion lobby and the Coalition could use it to whip up anti-choice hysteria.

The scaremongering is designed to further legitimise efforts to restrict women's access to abortion.

We should be wary of any attempts to undermine women's reproductive rights, such as Tony Abbott's recent attempts to restrict women's access to the morning after pill and comments that the number of abortions is a national tragedy.

Abbott is only giving confidence to the anti-abortion picketers and potentially setting Australia back to the days of lethal backyard abortions.

Most Australians continue to agree that at the end of the day it is a woman's decision — not the decision of governments, the anti-choice picketers or the churches.

Graphic representations of abortions don't change the fact that is a medical procedure that only the woman can decide upon.

From Green Left Weekly, July 21, 2004.

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From GLW issue 590