Submission re Health Insurance Amendment (Medicare Funding for Certain Types of Abortions) Bill 2013
“The Australian Federation for the Family strenuously objects to Medicare funding of gender selection pregnancy terminations in Australia and strongly supports the principled move by Senator John Madigan to halt taxpayer money funding this atrocious act.
The latest Galaxy Research poll, taken in February this year, found that 92% of Australians oppose gender selection pregnancy terminations. Several International organizations also have joined the battle in calling for a halt to this inhumane practice.
Back in 1994 the United Nations Cairo Population Conference urged all nations to put a stop to "prenatal sex selection". The UN report calls for legislation to be enacted to curb this heinous practice and calls for increasing the understanding of and appreciation for the equality of the sexes. Gender selection pregnancy termination is the antithesis of this worthy goal.
Many other reputable international agencies have decried the practice of gender selection pregnancy termination. Such agencies include, but are not limited to, the United Nations Office of the High Commissioner for Human Rights, the UN Population Fund, the UN Children's Fund, the UN Entity for Gender Equality and the Empowerment of Women as well as the World Health Authority. They have all joined voices in condemning the practice of gender selection pregnancy termination.
This is proven to be a widespread practice in Great Britain as documented in UK media. Legislators would be seriously mistaken if they think it does not happen in Australia. In fact, several medical practitioners have contacted Sen Madigan confirming it does indeed occur Down Under, yet there is no methodology prescribed to catalogue the gender of aborted babies in Australia. This destroys the myth, promoted by some ill-informed groups, that it is not a problem in Australia, which is an often-used but seriously flawed argument.
The United Nations Convention on the Rights of the Child, to which Australia is a prominent signatory, states in no uncertain terms that the child "needs special safeguards and care, including appropriate legal protection, before as well as after birth." Gender selection pregnancy termination blatantly violates the very basic right of children to be born.
Jack Sonnemann, Director, Australian Federation for the Family”
Action: ALL Aussies should contact their Federal Senators and MPs (through our website). Ask them to support Madigan’s Bill and stop Medicare funding of sex-selection abortions. This is very important for Australians as this is the first piece of Pro Life legislation in Federal Parliament for over 23 years!ALL Tasmanians can contact every member of the Tasmanian Legislative Council, the Upper House, and ask them to reject the ALP/Green proposal that is presently before them to further entrench abortion access in Tasmania. We want the laws against abortion tightened and not made more easily accessible. www.Ausfamily.org, click on ‘Lobbying’, click on Tasmania and click on the Legislative Council. Easy.