The Australian Christian Lobby has expressed its deep disappointment at the passing of the controversial abortion bill in the NSW Parliament today.
The bill, which has seen the third longest debate on any bill in the Legislative Council, quickly passed the Legislative Assembly this morning on the voices, after passing the Upper House with amendments last night.
Kieren Jackson, NSW Director of the Australian Christian Lobby, drew attention to the divisive nature of the bill:
“MPs voting on this bill today couldn’t get it out of the way fast enough because they know how deeply divisive this whole debate has been in their electorates,” Mr Jackson said.
“It’s worth remembering the scale of the pushback we have seen play out over the extreme nature of the bill and the secretive process employed by MPs that tried to rush it through,” Mr Jackson said.
“The thousands of voters in the NSW community who have contacted their members of Parliament, made submissions, protested, wrote letters, sent postcards, and called their MPs – all to express opposition to this bill – should be commended for their efforts.”
“It has been inspiring over the past two months to see so many members of the NSW parliament standing strong in their defence of the unborn, sometimes at great sacrifice to their own advancement.
“The amendments that saw their way into the final bill have made a bad bill slightly better, but we need to remember that it’s still a piece of legislation that tragically sanctions the death of the unborn.
“I don’t think those behind this bill ever expected the storm they were about to create when they sidelined the community.
“This bill might be gone from legislative debate, but it will not be forgotten by many in NSW. The fight for the unborn will continue.” Mr Jackson said.
