Victorian MP Geoff Shaw travels to US to research abortion law
|
Version 0 of 1. The Victorian independent MP Geoff Shaw has departed on a trip to research abortion laws in the US, to help inform his own legislation. Shaw is to spend two weeks investigating abortion laws in New York, California, Georgia, Nevada and Ohio. The MP, who holds the balance of power in the state parliament, will pay for meals, accommodation and internal flights, but the Victorian government is funding the international flights. “As an independent, I’ve got to be looking at legislation,” Mr Shaw told the Age. “Every state is different. Some are pro-life. In Ohio, for example, they suggest life starts when a doctor hears a heart beat. Others suggest life begins at conception." Shaw is preparing a private member’s bill which would make wide-ranging changes to Victoria’s abortion laws. The bill would ban gender-selective and partial-birth abortions, as well as giving anti-abortion doctors the right to refuse to refer women to a medical professional who has no objection to the practice. Shaw also wants doctors to provide pain relief to foetuses during abortions and to resuscitate those that survive the procedure. The Frankston MP has called Victoria’s abortion laws among the worst in the world. “If in society we are saying there should be more women on boards, there should be more females in parliament, well you are killing them,” Shaw told the Herald Sun on Thursday. “Here in Australia we can’t kill snake eggs but we are quite happy to kill an egg in the tummy and it should be the safest place for a baby to be. “How can any women who are pro-women’s rights say that you can kill girls?” In an interview with ABC radio’s RN Drive program on Thursday evening, Shaw failed to offer evidence that any foetuses survived abortion or that any gender-selective abortions were taking place in Victoria. “There’s more than 100,000 abortions in Australia per year, and to get figures on what definitely happens, that’s a bit difficult to get, because they don’t record those.” Pressed for figures by the presenter, Waleed Aly, Shaw said: “I’m not really here to answer your questions.” Both the Victorian premier, Denis Napthine, and the Labor leader, Daniel Andrews, have ruled out any changes to the abortion laws. Napthine, who had a one-seat majority in the Victorian parliament until Shaw left the Liberal party in March, relies on the independent MP to pass legislation. Fair Agenda, which campaigns on women’s issues, has called on people to urge Napthine not to change his position on abortion. The group cites a Newspoll taken last year which showed 85% of Victorians supported a woman’s right to choose. |