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Abortion
clinic
plan
attacked
By DAVID SIBLEY
The Roman Catholic Arch
bishop of Canberra and Goul
burn, the Most Reverend
Francis Carroll, has launched a
strong attack on calls for an
abortion clinic in Canberra.
"Renewed calls to establish an
abortion clinic in Canberra to provide
abortions on request mean a sentence
of death hangs over many defenceless
little human beings waiting to be
borp," Archbishop Carroll said in a
statement. "I grieve for them.
"I grieve also for every pregnant
woman insistently told by smooth
voices that it is entirely up to her to
decide whether her unborn baby shall
live or shall be put to death. Those
voices are trying to obliterate some of
the richest certainties of adult experi
ence, and to eradicate woman's truest
aspirations. They deny life."
Archbishop Carroll said the Catho
lic Church, along with so many other
Christian churches and organisations,
believed in the human dignity and
rights of every human being without
exception, . black or white, influ
ential or defenceless, born or un
born".
"Every human life is intrinsically,
irreplaccably precious: whether in a
town of Croatia; in a street of East
Timor; or in the womb of a pregnant
woman living in the ACT," Archbish
op Carroll said.
He opposed the "sour negative"
philosophy of pro-abortionists with
all the force at his command, and
"trembled for those who carry out the
killings".
"I strongly object to their being
funded by taxpayers'.money," he said.
As a minister of the Gospel, he
would be straying from the path of
Christ if he simply condemned abor
tion and proclaimed the rights of the
Archbishop Carroll: "Smooth voices [that] deny life." Help
Archbishop Carroll: "Smooth
voices [that] deny life."
child but forgot the pressures on the
individual mother.
Archbishop Carroll said he ad
mired organisations, such as Pregnan
cy Support, that provided practical
help to women, and he supported the
ACT Right to Life movement, which
"speaks out for life".
He pledged the support of the
Catholic Church and its agencies "for
mother and child".
"Again, as a minister of the Gospel,
I say a word to every woman who has
had an abortion," he said. "God still
loves you, his Church still cares for
you, Christ himself offers you his par
don and his peace."
Archbishop Carroll's attack comes
just as the debate between pro-life and
pro-choice groups has died down.
On March 23 the Chief Minister,
Rosemary Follctt, said that reforming
abortion laws and providing a free
standing abortion clinic were not pri
orities for the ACT Government.
The debate began when the Left
faction Caucus resolved to press the
eight Labor Members of the Legisla
tive Assembly to implement Austra
lian Labor Party policy on abortion,
which states "as a priority the provi
sion of a free-standing abortion clin
ic".
The Minister for Health, Wayne
Berry, a leading member of the Left, is
known to be keen to implement the
policy, having described the situation
where up to 1500 women go interstate
for abortions as "no longer accept
able".
The national coordinator of the
Women's Electoral Lobby, Anne
Wentworth, said yesterday that it was
each women's right to choose an abor
tion and she did not accept a living
foetus as a human being.
"It is rather a shame that when
Archbishop Carroll makes those re
marks, it makes some women feel like
murderers," Ms Wentworth said.
"The Archbishop drags up feelings of
guilt; it is really quite a shame."
She said the lobby did not accept
that any outsider should interfere
with a woman's choice. Rather than
sending 1500 women to have abor
tions interstate, Canberra should
have the proper support and services
for women considering an abortion.
Other members of the Assembly
who support an abortion clinic in
Canberra are Independent MLAs
Helen Szuty and Michael Moore.
Yesterday Mr Moore described the
Catholic Church's approach on abor
tion as reflecting "nothing less than
hypocrisy".
"It is the height of chauvinism, the
epitome of an attempt at male control
to attempt to interfere with a wom
an's medical choices," he said. "The
advantages of a clinic are that all ser
vices associated with pregnancy can
be offered. Any sensible person can
see that prevention through educa
tion, counselling, and contraception
is, of course, preferable to an abor
tion."
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