Ahead of Labor’s National Conference this weekend, Cherish Life Queensland has announced that it will campaign strongly at next year’s federal election against Labor MPs and candidates of an abortion mindset.

Ms Teeshan Johnson, executive director of Cherish Life Queensland, said: “We condemn the undertaking by federal Labor to use taxpayer money to increase ‘accessibility’ to abortion, if it wins the 2019 federal election, as brutal and unnecessary.

“Abortion is already highly accessible in Australia with about 80,000 terminations a year. Most of these qualify for a Medicare rebate, which costs taxpayers more than $10 million a year,” Ms Johnson said. 

“Using more taxpayer money to further fund the killing unborn babies is an abrogation of the first duty of government, which is to protect innocent human life. MPs and candidates of this extreme abortion mindset do not deserve to be in government, and we will be doing all we can to keep them out of government, and cause them to lose their seats to pro-life politicians. 

“Also deeply concerning is the Labor for Choice motion to be tabled at the conference which seeks to bind all Labor MPs to vote for more permissive abortion legislation, by removing the historical conscience vote on this issue. Freedom of conscience is a fundamental human right under international law.

“The right to a conscience vote on abortion has been included in the federal platform of the Labor Party since 1984, properly recognising that abortion is a life or death issue and not merely a legal or medical one. If the ALP national conference votes to bind its MPs to vote for extreme abortion laws, they would be imposing their morality on some of their colleagues and ironically denying them their ‘choice’ by compelling them to vote against their personal convictions.

“If Labor for Choice is successful in removing the conscience vote from every Labor MP around Australia, it will mean that the pro-life movement will have to widen its campaign to target Labor as a party, instead of just individual pro-abortion MPs and candidates.

“This would be a great shame, as we know there are still some Labor MPs and Senators of goodwill with a strong life ethos.

“Removing the conscience vote would be a dictatorial action which would show Labor values adherence to ideology above freedom of conscience, even on matters as serious as killing. It also would send the message to prospective and existing Labor members with a strong life ethos that they would not be welcome in the party.

“As well as campaigning against Labor MPs and candidates who hold an extreme abortion ideology at the federal election, Cherish Life Queensland has offered support to several pro-life or life-supporting MPs including the Member for Dawson, George Christensen.”

Cherish Life Queensland is calling for public donations for the federal election campaign for life, following the extensive state-wide campaign it ran against the Termination of Pregnancy Bill earlier this year.

The decision by the Queensland Labor Government to include euthanasia in an end-of-life inquiry has been condemned by Cherish Life Queensland as a tactic with the end goal being expanding “state-sanctioned killing” from the unborn to the elderly, sick and/ or disabled.

Cherish Life president Dr Donna Purcell said an inquiry to improve aged care and increase funding for palliative care services was needed, but these crucial areas were being used as a smokescreen and would not be given the attention they deserved given euthanasia was part of the terms of reference.

“Holding a parliamentary inquiry with a committee controlled by pro-euthanasia MPs is just following the tactic which enabled the Victorian Government to legalise assisted suicide last year, while ignoring the need to boost funding for palliative care.

“Legalisation of euthanasia would expose the vulnerable elderly and terminally ill to pressure – real or imagined – to do the ‘right thing’ and request death so they are not a ‘burden on their family’.

“Sending the message that some lives are not worth living is also utterly counter-productive to combating Australia’s suicide epidemic.

“No safeguards are effective when it comes to euthanasia. It is open to serious manipulation and can be the worst and ultimate form of abuse of those who are ill, elderly, or disabled.

“This is one of the reasons why this state-sanctioned killing is opposed by both the AMA and the World Medical Association.

“Euthanasia advocates give the false impression that terminally ill patients have to suffer excruciating pain and dreadful agony.

“This is simply not the case, as the advanced palliative care available today means that every Australian can have the hope of a tolerable dying process.
“Palliative care focuses on relieving pain and keeping patients comfortable in order to allow a natural and dignified death at their appointed time. Good medical practice is all about facilitating natural death with dignity and peace.

“Doctors should kill the pain, not the patient.”