Australia’s right-wing populist One Nation party is enjoying a well-publicised poll bump, but its closeness to the fringe anti-abortion movement is not receiving enough attention. The Guardian reported that South Australian MP Sarah Game, elected as One Nation but now an independent, has proposed legislation to ban abortion after 25 weeks, even in cases of severe foetal abnormalities. With the support of three other One Nation representatives in the upper house, the measure could force a vote in the lower house.
Support for abortion rights in Australia is conservatively estimated to be shared by more than 80% of the population. After years of activism, abortion was decriminalised in all states and territories almost three years ago. Despite this, One Nation is pushing ahead with a policy that pledges to “seek every opportunity to roll back brutal and extreme abortion law”. Party leader Pauline Hanson regularly appears in public with well-known anti-abortion extremists, and One Nation MP Barnaby Joyce was the headline act at an anti-abortion event in Sydney.
The horror genre often speaks to unspoken social anxieties. Contemporary “incel horror” films like Barbarian, Fresh, Blink Twice, and Companion depict masculinised resentment and male entitlement seizing control of women’s bodies. This mirrors the real-world aftermath of the US Supreme Court’s Dobbs decision, which overturned the right to abortion. In Texas, the sepsis rate in second-trimester pregnancy-loss hospitalisations has risen more than 50% since abortion bans took effect, and dozens more pregnancy-related deaths have occurred. A 2024 study estimated over 64,000 rape pregnancies in the 14 US states with total abortion bans.
Australians who do not want to find themselves victims of such policies should heed the warning. Failing to comprehend the implication of electing One Nation MPs whose policies oppose the majority view on reproductive rights risks voters becoming like the mayor in Jaws – a role no one wants.
