One Nation senator Malcolm Roberts has declared he will push for his party to adopt a blanket ban on abortion, contradicting the stance of party leader Pauline Hanson. Speaking at the Church and State summit in Brisbane, Roberts responded to an audience question about why One Nation was not aiming to eliminate abortion altogether by stating, 'That's becoming my goal. That's something I'll be putting to the party. We need to reconsider some things, but it will be a conscience vote.'
Contradicting Pauline Hanson
Roberts' comments are at odds with Hanson, who told the National Press Club on Wednesday that it was only 'too late to have an abortion' after 20 weeks. Hanson has previously stated she is not against abortion in the first trimester, up to 12 weeks, and emphasised education on contraceptives. One Nation's current policy is to 'seek every opportunity to roll back brutal and extreme abortion law.'
Anti-Abortion Alliance
The weekend summit heard how anti-abortion groups formed an alliance about two years ago to campaign for law changes and replace politicians not on board. Roberts learned more about abortion from summit founder Dave Pellowe, who described women who commit 'child sacrifice' as condemned by God and guilty of murder, adding that 'feminism has had a demonic influence.' Pellowe aims to 'effectively redeem the culture' by bringing the Gospel into politics, stating, 'Let's end the careers of politicians who want to keep funding the killing of Australians.'
Legislative Efforts
The anti-abortion movement has grown more vocal since abortion decriminalisation in Australia and the overturning of Roe v Wade in the US. Recent legislative attempts include a Queensland bill to stop nurses prescribing abortion medication (defeated), a sex-selective bill before NSW parliament, and a South Australian bill to restrict abortion from 25 weeks (defeated in the lower house but passed the upper house with help from One Nation MLCs). The SA premier, Peter Malinauskas, and several MPs voted for the bill.
Coalition of Groups
At the summit, Matthew Cliff of Cherish Life said the group had been working with the Australian Christian Lobby (ACL), FamilyVoice, and others. A press release on the SA bill was issued jointly from Australia Life, BirdFlip, Tradies for Babies, ACL, Love Australia, Pro-life Health Professionals Australia, the Greek Orthodox Archdiocese, Family First, and FamilyVoice. The International Women's Development Agency said the bills were 'not based in evidence' and 'form part of a broader strategy to chip away at reproductive rights.'
