By Michele Wickham
SYDNEY — On the September 22-24, the St Peter's Society at Sydney University held a seminar series under the title "Abortion Information Week — what really happens in an abortion".
Intrigued and concerned by the implied anti-abortion content of the seminars, members of the Sydney University Resistance Club and Women's Collective attended.
Under the guise of "presenting all the facts", the Abortion Information Centre, invited by the St Peter's Society, presented an incorrect, brutal and moralistic description of abortions. Centre staff handed out pamphlets titled "Every foetus is a living, growing baby" and "Good grief — what does happen after abortion?".
The speakers showed videos featuring men in white coats prodding screaming women who were covered in blood, with images of newborn babies throughout.
The abortion rights supporters present intervened in the discussion to shift the focus from the rights of the foetus to the right of pregnant women to choose what happened to her body. They argued that since the foetus is part of and dependent on the woman's body, the woman must have control over what happens to it. The Resistance Books pamphlet Abortion: A woman's right to choose was also promoted.
The lies told by the speakers about the supposed lack of counselling and contraceptive advice offered by abortion clinics were condemned and corrected by Resistance members. The anti-choice advocates made other inaccurate and moralistic assertions, including that women abuse abortion services by using them as a form of contraception.
An ironic aspect of the seminar was the official speakers' constant use of the word "choice" when referring to options other than abortion (adoption and child support, for example). The pro-choice participants pointed out that if the speakers genuinely supported choice for women in all aspects of their lives, they would support free and accessible abortion services.
The official speakers refused to debate the politics of abortion, stating that abortion could only be understood as a moral issue. They closed the seminar with a presentation of the "benefits" of promoting chastity and a warning to stay away from poorly lit rooms and passionate kisses, which are destined to set us on fire!