Helen, thank you for your article.

I think that the AFA and other right-to-life organisations have very little sway over voters intentions anyway, and most politicians (as do most people) don't change their opinions on abortion based on a few flimsy statistics from a questionable telephone poll.

What is a much larger threat for a woman's right to control her fertility and the impediment to abortion law reform, is the branch stacking that takes place within political parties. Why is it that well over 80% of Australians support a womans right to abortion but the majority of politicians in QLD and NSW are against reform?

The moderate NSW Liberals have been systematically replaced with right-to-lifers by means of branch-stacking by Maronite X-tians over the last ten years. The NSW Libs will probably be voted in by default next election, but the unsuspecting voter will have little idea of who they are actually be voting for. eg. Greg Smith. (Ex president of NSW Right-To-Life) and David Clarke (vocal anti-choice). Abortion probably won't even rate a mention during the campaign.

killing the unborn is abhorrent whether it is a political issue or not.

Except for "god", who can order "his" armies to do so, on the unsubstantiated verbal order given a dodgy priest or two. *then* it is hunky dory. The same lack of due process now wouldn't excuse a parking ticket.

I guess it's OK for "god" because he doesn't dirty his own hands but uses hired hands.

Rusty

The polls show the public don't want abortion legalised. They don't want to see more women and children suffering from abortion. And to think the pro-abortion lobby tried to say that there was 90% support for more abortion in QLD.

What is our female premier doing to reduce the number women having abortions each year in QLD? What support is QLD's first Premier who is a mother providing to mothers here? How many abortions is enough?

Dear Runner,

My opinion piece does not deal with the question of whether abortion is abhorrent. It deals with the question of whether Australians decide how to cast their vote at elections on this issue. Many if not most Australians do have views on abortion (including on whether it is abhorrent or not), but I have found no evidence to suggest that people vote on "abortion", as they do vote on "economic issues" (or so a substantial body of evidence suggests). So people may feel strongly about abortion, the issue has a low salience in their decision on how to vote. Unlike in the US, opinions on abortion in Australia have not become divided along party lines for the most part, and have not aligned with other issues, further accentuating its low salience in voting decisions.

But as for its being abhorrent, that's another question entirely. As you know.

Helen

isabelberners

I think I agree with you that abortion is not an issue that many consider when voting at elections. Our media certainly would not allow that. I imagine that is why the perverted policies of the left often don't come up at election time. You have Labour saying they are economic conservatives and rational and then showing themselves the opposite. I would assume that most legislation to kill babies is done by State Governments in mid election cycles. It is quite sneaky but then again if the public was made to look at what is being done it is quite repulsive.