Tracy Gordon, spokesperson for Sydney Diocese's Social Issues Executive, has rejected claims made in the Sydney Morning Herald that there is a "secret agenda' to change Australia's abortion laws.
Writing in the SMH yesterday (Friday February 4), ethicist and pro-choice activist Dr Leslie Cannold criticised National Party Senator, Ron Boswell, for acting on the requests of a coalition of religious leaders and seeking data on the precise number of terminations in Australia.
Ms Gordon said it is "no secret" that an inter-faith coalition " made up of representatives from the Roman Catholic, Anglican, Greek Orthodox, Pentecostal and other Christian churches as well as Islamic, Hindu, Buddhist, and Jewish leaders " did not favour abortion but there were no plans to seek legislation that restricted access to terminations.
"We just want the debate to go in a more positive direction," Ms Gordon said. "If we ask for legislation change then that will really polarise the debate and be unhelpful for pregnant women struggling to decide whether to keep their babies. Our agenda is clear and simple " we are only about seeking better care of women and their babies."
It appears from Dr Cannold's article that pro-choice activists fear that revelations about the number of abortions will be a first step, inevitably leading to a tightening of abortions laws. This, it has been claimed, is what has occurred in the US.
Dr Cannold asked rhetorically in her article, "What are anti-choice MPs planning to do to women's freedom to get an abortion? How are their secret plans going to affect the freedom of women and couples to decide for themselves if and when they'll have children?"
"Once the doors of all those prayer sessions and secret meetings are flung open, women and families will finally know " instead of having to guess " precisely how their reproductive freedoms are going to come under attack," Dr Cannold wrote.
However, Ms Gordon said the inter-faith coalition "has been very clear and transparent about the four things we are calling for".
After the religious leaders met in Sydney on Monday they released a petition calling on Governments at all levels:
"¢ to provide accurate statistics on abortion;
"¢ require accurate and objective information be given to women seeking abortions, including possible physical and psychological risks;
"¢ restrict late-term abortions;
"¢ and to create meaningful initiatives to support women confronted by unexpected pregnancies and to promote alternatives to abortion.
The petition was signed by Bishop of North Sydney Glenn Davies on behalf of Sydney Anglicans.
