WEDNESDAY 17 JUNE 2020
Second Reading
The Hon. G.G. BROCK (Frome) (11:56): We have this debate, and it is a very important issue. I think that what we need to do is let the members here explain to our communities, our constituents, where we are going, because it is a conscience vote. This is an issue that I think is traumatic, quite frankly, in that it has to come to a decision here for a woman to make a decision to have an abortion or a termination of a living body within her own system.
As the members for Lee and Newland have indicated, and others here have said, they go to facilities or locations that are quite legal. For a particular woman to make the decision to go in that direction is traumatic enough as it is without her also being confronted—although to my knowledge it has not happened in South Australia—by someone who does not believe in a particular person having a legal procedure, for whatever reason. It could be for their health, it could be because they have made a mistake and it could be because they may not be able to afford it. There are a lot of people out there who have had numerous children by numerous fathers, and unfortunately some of those kids have not had a good life.
Just recently, in the last two or three days, I have had three or four people contact my office to vote against this bill. The issue is that the incident has never happened in South Australia, so why are we putting a bill through? My comment to that is: the world is changing dramatically at the moment in regard to the Black Lives Matter movement, which is the other issue that is happening worldwide, and even though the other members here have said that we need the right of protest, we also need to put in precautions to ensure the safety and wellbeing of a particular person attending these legal facilities at the moment .
I have some personal friends who have gone through this over the years, and as they have gone through the procedure it has been traumatic enough to actually go through with the termination. I seek leave to continue my remarks.
Leave granted; debate adjourned.
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