Arabic version: نيومان يتعهد بدعم تشديد ضوابط الإجهاض في نيو ساوث ويلز
According to ABC News, NSW One Nation leader Mike Newman told a rally outside state parliament that he would seek tighter abortion controls if his party succeeds in the March election. Newman, who is seeking election in the Hunter Valley seat of Cessnock, later said he was referring to abortions for sex-selection purposes and late-term abortions.
Speaking alongside anti-abortion campaigner Joanna Howe, a professor of law at the University of Adelaide, Newman said One Nation would ensure there was a “right to life”. Howe introduced him as the “next premier of NSW”. Newman said that if One Nation won government and he became premier, he would put the issue back on the agenda and seek to ensure it passed.
NSW parliament is considering a private member’s bill from Libertarian MP John Ruddick that would prohibit abortion for sex-selection purposes. Such terminations are already banned under NSW Health policies, although they are not explicitly outlawed. Practitioners can face disciplinary action for breaches; under the proposed bill, they could face jail terms. Newman said he would support the bill’s principles in parliament.
Greens MP Amanda Cohn said the bill and One Nation’s backing were intended to reduce reproductive rights in NSW, describing it as a “thinly veiled attempt to re-criminalise abortion in NSW”. A NSW Health review reported 15,973 terminations between October 2019 and September 2020, including 13 listed for the sole purpose of sex selection. The review found 10 were likely reporting errors because they occurred before nine weeks’ gestation, when there was no readily available and reliable way to determine gender.
Before the rally, Premier Chris Minns urged voters to consider One Nation’s policies before the state election next year. He said a One Nation-led government was the most likely alternative if the government fell in March. Newman said the party would run candidates in every seat across NSW and argued that parliamentary criticism showed the government was worried about One Nation.
