[Greens-Media] (Hale MLC) Greens say the right to choice must be maintained

[Colin Hesse]

Media release
 
>From Sylvia Hale, Greens MP and spokesperson for Law and Justice
 
24 May 2010    - For immediate use                
            
Greens say the right to choice must be maintained
 
The Greens have expressed serious concern at remarks by Premier
Kristina Keneally that indicate she may be considering changes to the
law that would weaken women’s right to choose how to manage their own
fertility.
 
“The terrible loss and suffering caused to Brodie Donegan and Nick
Ball is one that any reasonable person can identify with,” said Sylvia
Hale, Greens spokesperson on Law and Justice.
 
“The Premier’s statement on the question of where life begins is
one often used by the anti-choice lobby commonly associated with
conservative religious leaders.
 
 “One terrible incident shouldn’t be used by the Government to open
the door to reducing women’s rights to control their own fertility.
 
“I am frankly concerned that the Premier’s own personal religious
beliefs may be given precedent over the rights of all women, including
the majority of women of her own faith who themselves insist on the
right to choice.
 
“NSW should be following the lead of the Victorian and ACT
Government’s that have removed abortion from the criminal code, and
instead should treat abortion as an issue of women’s health.
 
“The long running campaign to extend women’s rights to abortion,
restricted as those rights are in NSW, is one based on the fundamental
right of all women to make the individual choice to control their own
reproductive choices.
 
“The alternative of going back to the bad old days of restricting
women’s choice is simply not acceptable. We must never revisit the
backyard abortions of years ago that claimed the lives of so many women,
and permanently scarred many more.
 
“Bringing children into the world must always be a conscious choice,
where the mother wants each child, thereby maximising that child’s
chances of living a happy and fulfilling life.
 
“The grief of Brodie Donegan and Nick Ball is real, and my sympathies
are very much with them over their terrible loss. 
 
"The Premier and the Government must not allow this issue to go beyond
how the State deals with the actions of negligent drivers,” said Ms
Hale.
 
 
 
 Contact: Colin Hesse on 02 9230 3030 or 0401 719 124