source: www.theage.com.au
By Michelle Grattan, Canberra
February 14, 2006
LIBERAL MP Danna Vale has raised the prospect of Australia becoming a Muslim nation, warning "we are aborting ourselves almost out of existence".
As five conservative Coalition women promoted a compromise amendment to keep the fate of abortion drug RU486 in politicians' hands, Mrs Vale said she had read that the Imam at Sydney's Lakemba mosque had predicted Australia would be Muslim in half a century.
"I didn't believe him at the time. But … when you actually look at the birthrate, when you look at the fact that we are … aborting ourselves almost out of existence by 100,000 a year — a guesstimate," Mrs Vale said.
"You multiply that by 50 years — that's 5 million potential Australians we won't have here."
She said the RU486 issue involved accountability, ethics, morality and economics.
Two amendments are being considered to the private members' bill that would strip the Health Minister of power over the drug and give that power to the Therapeutic Goods Administration.
One from NSW Liberal Jackie Kelly would retain ministerial power but give Parliament the right to disallow a decision.
This amendment is also supported by Mrs Vale, Louise Markus, De-Anne Kelly and Trish Draper.
The other, from Queensland Liberal Andrew Laming, would give the power to the TGA with Parliament having the power to disallow.
Liberal MP Mal Washer, one of the chief proponents of the bill who will lead off the debate that starts today, said last night the amendments had now made the numbers very close.
He said the Laming amendment in particular had done "more harm than anything" to the cause of the bill.
While it would give power to the TGA, it retained political interference, he said.
Ms Jackie Kelly said the lack of babies for adoption in Australia was leading to "a trade in babies" from overseas.
She said the West was "plundering" the developing world for children. This led to social problems in the countries from which the children were removed.
"You create a trade in babies which leads to some tragic decisions for a woman overseas," Ms Kelly said.
"You've got an option of selling a kid sort of on the sly to support your own children".
The West had to look to itself to solve its problems, she said. "Adoption is not an option for Australian women. Why?"
The amendment provides for Parliament to have before it both the advice of the Therapeutic Goods Administration and the minister's reasons for his decision.
Parliamentary secretary for health Christopher Pyne, an opponent of the private members' bill, supported the Kelly amendment, on the grounds that it "maintains ministerial responsibility and contains an element of parliamentary oversight".
He said he would vote for the Laming amendment if the Kelly one failed to get the numbers.
Early yesterday, before the numbers started to narrow, Mr Pyne predicted the private members' bill in its original form would be carried in the House of Representatives on Thursday.
It went through the Senate unamended last week with a strong majority.
The Nationals' De-Anne Kelly said it was better for politicians to have control over the drug than "bureaucrats in a back ally".
Ms Jackie Kelly said public canvassing of the issue was one of the few ways that conservative women received information.
She said such women normally didn't go out and canvass the matter widely, but now there wouldn't be a woman in Australia who hadn't heard of RU486. She said the question of abortion itself was "between a woman and her god".
Liberal MP Louise Markus said people looked to government to be widely accountable.
South Australian Liberal Trish Draper said she had concerns about the safety of RU486.
