Premier Allan Calls Abortion 'Not Up for Debate' — Tell That to the Baby Girls Killed Because of Their Sex
Premier Jacinta Allan has declared Victoria's abortion laws beyond question — laws that allow a baby to be killed by lethal injection to the heart at nine months. Family First's Jane Foreman says the Premier is not defending women's rights. She is defending the right to kill unborn women.
On Friday, Premier Jacinta Allan issued a formal statement on official government letterhead declaring that abortion in Victoria is "not up for debate. Ever." She did not mention what Victoria's abortion laws actually permit. She should have.
Under laws championed by the Labor government, abortion in Victoria is legal to full term — including in the final weeks and days of pregnancy with two doctors' approval. In late-term procedures, one practice is to inject potassium chloride into the baby's heart to stop it beating. The baby is then delivered stillborn. This is what the Premier says is not up for debate
"The Premier wrapped a defence of late-term abortion in the language of women's rights. But some of the babies killed under these laws are girls — killed precisely because they are girls. There is no women's rights argument that survives that fact."
Victoria's laws contain no ban on sex-selection abortion. A baby girl can be aborted at any stage — including late term — because her parents wanted a boy. The Premier's statement made no mention of this. Family First will ban sex-selection abortion. The Allan government will not.
Nor did the Premier mention the women who did not choose abortion freely. There are no criminal penalties in Victoria for a man who coerces, pressures, or manipulates a woman into terminating her pregnancy. Women in violent or controlling relationships are left without the protection of the law. Family First will make coercing a woman into abortion a criminal offence. The Allan government will not.
"The Premier says she fights for women. Where is her fight for the woman whose partner told her to kill her baby or he would leave? Where is her fight for the baby girl aborted because she wasn't the right sex? These are the women and the children this government has abandoned. Family First has not."
Just days ago, South Australia's upper house passed a bill banning late-term abortion — backed by the Premier and the Liberal Opposition Leader in the Lower House. It was voted down hours later when the government fast-tracked it to prevent further public debate. The Allan government watched and this is the Premier's response. The Victorian Greens are now pushing to enshrine abortion in the state constitution — to put it beyond any future parliamentary scrutiny. The Premier has 'left the door open' to support them.
"Victorians are not being asked to take rights away from women. They are being asked whether a viable baby — one who could live outside the womb — deserves any protection at all. The Premier's answer is no. Family First's answer is yes."
Family First will:
- Ban late-term abortion and protect pain-capable unborn babies.
- Ban sex-selection abortion — ending the practice of terminating baby girls because of their sex.
- Make it a criminal offence for a man to coerce or pressure a woman into aborting her baby.
- Support women in crisis pregnancies practically, so that no woman faces abortion because she had no other choice.
—
