Tuntuni Bhattacharyya and Pat Brewer
Abortion is a political issue
On July 11, pro-choice activists held a picket outside the NSW ALP conference. The picketers were demanding from delegates that the ALP end its conscience vote on abortion and support the campaign to remove this medical procedure from the Crimes Act. (Abortion is the only medical procedure to be listed under a criminal code.)
The response from some in the ALP was hostile. Andrew Refshauge, deputy leader, health spokesperson and supposedly from the left, claimed that to call for the abolition of the conscience vote would only allow the anti-abortionists to "completely outlaw" abortion. He argued that the conscience vote safeguards access, and that we should bide our time till we "get the numbers" in parliament.
But given the strong influence of conservatives such as Johno Johnson (who looks set to win a further eight years as MLC), this is obviously a doomed strategy.
The ALP, like the Liberal Party and the Democrats, maintains the anti-woman status quo on abortion by treating the issue as one of "conscience" on the basis that this is a moral issue. This is a cop-out designed to avoid dealing with the overwhelming public sentiment in support of women's right to choose. For example, a 1991 national poll by McNair Anderson found that 81% were pro-choice.
Giving priority to politicians' personal views on policy issues flies in the face of what a political party is all about. Different moral views can be used to justify taking different stands on any issue. That's why the ALP has adopted guidelines to subordinate MPs' personal viewpoints to the party's, or at least the caucus's, majority position.
Access to abortion as a safe medical procedure is a political issue in a system which stigmatises abortion as a criminal act. Women must have the right to exercise their choice about their own reproductive future.
A decision by the Call to Australia Party to stand an anti-abortion candidate in the Parramatta by-election has added urgency to the campaign to repeal abortion from the Crimes Act. Silence on this matter could allow the anti-abortionists to win by default.
The NSW Women's Abortion Action Campaign has decided on a long-term, multifaceted campaign. Task groups have been set up to focus on areas such as media liaison, endorsement, education and elections. In the short-term, the campaign will focus on making abortion an election issue. In both the Parramatta by-election, and the NSW state election due in early 1995, WAAC will be calling on candidates to declare their views on abortion law repeal.
[Tuntuni Bhattacharyya and Pat Brewer are pro-choice activists.]