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Legislative Council - Fifty-First Parliament, Second Session (51-2)
2008-07-23 Daily Xml
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RIGHT TO LIFE AUSTRALIA INCORPORATED

The Hon. D.G.E. HOOD (15:47): Right to Life Australia Incorporated is an organisation dedicated to the preservation of human life in any form. From an unborn child right through to the elderly, a human being has the right to life, despite what may be said or deemed socially acceptable.

From small but strong beginnings in 1973, Right to Life Australia Incorporated has grown rapidly to become Australia's pre-eminent pro-life organisation and as such is regularly approached by the media to make comments on abortion, euthanasia and embryo research. The organisation is non-party political, nondenominational and works at a national level on all issues aimed at protecting human life right from conception.

Right to Life Australia Incorporated maintains a three-pronged attack for the defence of human life by working at political, educational and social levels in all states and territories of Australia. Politically the organisation is active in lobbying members at state and federal levels in all legislatures nationwide and plays a key role in lobbying politicians and encouraging members of their organisation to contact their MPs regarding their stance on these issues. In addition, Right to Life has made many oral and written submissions to parliamentary inquiries over the years.

Right to Life Australia also believes that education is a key element in the protection of human life, and therefore it aims to inform as many people as possible of the truth and consequences of destroying or tampering with human life. School and church talks are part of this, along with the information packs and literature that it makes freely available.

Right to Life Australia Incorporated endeavours to have access to up-to-date statistics on relevant life issues. In a social sense, Right to Life Australia Incorporated believes in outreach to women in crisis pregnancy situations. To effectively achieve this it has established and maintained a 24-hour counselling service, which offers alternatives to abortion and post-abortion counselling. Pregnancy Counselling Australia (PCA) receives no government, church or corporate financial support whatsoever. It is remarkably successful in receiving some 5,000 calls on an annual basis. For the record, the crisis line number is 1300 737 732.

With approximately 100,000 abortions taking place in Australia each year, roughly equating to two aborted babies for every five born, Right to Life Australia believes there needs to be a greater push for making adoption an easier and more viable option.

I might say that not only does Right to Life believe that: Family First does as well. Considering that infertility is on the rise, adoption is an alternative that can produce positive outcomes for all involved. Right to Life Australia would like to see the government make adoption laws more practical for all involved, and help reduce any stigma still surrounding the issue. I might just add here that with both my wife and father being adopted, I am personally a very strong advocate for the success of adoption.

For a woman faced with an unplanned pregnancy who believes she cannot cope with a child, surely it would be better to have that child adopted so that she could know her child was alive and well in the future. Indeed, in his parting address my former colleague the Hon. Andrew Evans noted that more unborn babies are now being aborted by teenage girls than are actually being born. The adoption process has improved greatly over the last two decades in particular, and it is now a much more positive and respectful process for relinquishing mothers. I believe that further shows it should be considered before abortion in any crisis pregnancy situation.

Right to Life Australia's existence and activities help to keep the lack of respect for human life that abounds today at the forefront of the minds of Australians. Its continual efforts endeavour to protect human life under threat from, as I said, the embryo stage right through to the elderly, and I believe it should be commended for that stand.

Whilst I have a minute remaining, I would like to reiterate a couple of those points. As I said, both my wife and my father are adopted, and in today's environment they may both have been aborted—certainly, statistically that is likely. That would mean I would not have been born either, and while some in here would applaud that option I am sure many other people would not. I am not saying it is easy: I understand it is very difficult, but I urge young women facing these very difficult circumstances to contact Right to Life and other groups just to hear that side of the story and understand that adoption is a real option.

There are many couples out there who would give their left arm, so to speak, for a lovely baby, and they go to great measures to get them from overseas. The tragedy is that we have aborted so many of them right here in our own country—indeed, in South Australia we abort about 20 children a day. I would love to see, as would Right to Life, those children being given up for adoption.

Time expired.

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