LeslieC
[Deleted for being off topic.]
“In other words Timkins and with all due respect, please pay me and other readers and writers on this site the courtesy of playing the ball, not the (wo)man.”

This could be amusing if it wasn’t so serious. Perhaps “Timkins” is a symbol of many males in our society, wherein if he points out the gross hypocrisies of feminists, or the amount of male discrimination that is occurring, and then references his statements to many other sources, he is then labelled with everything from “misogynist” to “old”, and it is also continuously inferred that he is anti-female (which is interesting because I have just spent a number of days camping and bushwalking with a female).

Again, I don’t believe Tony Abbott called anyone a “Slut” as you seem to infer. I don’t like him as a person, but I don’t like others who attempt fear mongering, are a part of the system of gender biased social science research, and make negative remarks with substantiation as you are doing.

In defence of Tony Abott I find it interesting that while he and his partner were practicing "vatican roulette" she did not get pregnant. However in her one off fling with her flatmate she did use contraception and did get pregnant. Delicious irony.
It's so easy to be judgemntal on Christians like Mr Abbott. They have an objective moral standard which they frequently fail so it is quite easy for them to be painted as hypocrites. Secular bigots have no such worries. They can always justify their actions by their flexible morality and claim the moral high ground of "consistancy". Their morality always fits the situation.
Mr Abbotts failure to denouce his ex shows that he is not judgeing her.
In trying to raise issues with regard to matter of abortions Mr abbott is not trying to call pregnant women naugty or nice. Rather in a society with so many contraceptive options why is abortion so prevalent

Oh, for goodness sake men! Because contraception choices may seem many to you that don't have to take them, but the choice is very similar for us!
Most contraception stinks!
Stop laying the responsibiliy at women's feet, and get yourself some of your own choices of contraception, other than the condom.

Leslie poses the following question
“The question is whether he will finally allow the evidence of his own experience to collapse his rigid views about how others should behave when it comes to sex, contraception and decisions about unplanned pregnancies. Or will his rigid views about nice girls and sluts live to see - and to guide the nation’s health policy - another day?”

Answer – Tony Abbott is but one among many Coalition MPs and whilst he is Health Minister, in regard to abortion politics, is (thankfully), in the minority.

I personally find the real sadness in all this is another item Leslie quoted “The problem, says Allanson, is that while such women sympathise with their own situation and feel confident their case justifies an abortion, most refuse to allow their experience to translate to compassion for other women facing the same dilemma. Instead, these women prefer to see their experience as unique and so no challenge to their abortion politics or their uncompromising judgement of all aborting women - except themselves, of course - as murderers.”

The world will be a better place when people respect others sufficiently (exercising compassion and tolerance instead of prohibitions and judgement) to allow them to exercise choice in matters which effect them alone. This would be a better way to channel the energy which the (minority of) busybodies rush here and there feverishly hanging up billboards and demanding abortion be banned because of either their minority experience or some bit of non-universal theological dogma which they may happen to share with Tony Abbott.

In this matter -
we are not all catholics
but we are all capable of exercising the cognitive processes needed to research, interpret and act in response to our individual wants and needs, regardless of the dictates of a catholic priesthood who, lets face it, lack (or at least should) the fundamental experience to ever counsel anyone on "pregnancy choices".

“Tony Abbott has had control of his sexual and reproductive world and now, as Health Minister in a government about to take control of both houses of parliament, he is about to assume unprecedented control of ours.”

He is not the father. How does this translate into having had any control? Kathy sleeps around, has a child by another man, Tony is held emotionally responsible for the next 27 years. What sort of control is this?

Tony is not the bad guy here, unless you assume he exercised some undue influence on Kathy to relinquish another man’s child. If he hadn’t, he would have been like the tens of thousands of other dads raising someone else’s child. Is this what women want to protect?

Let’s not forget Tony is the good guy here, and Kathy is the one with women’s sexuality issues.

SLUMLORD I no longer fanticize about you as a greedy Landlord of a Fitztroy slum, your comments RULE !
Speaking as a Christian, I am only too aware of my own failings and sins, but how secular people just LOVE to jump on the slightest mis step of a person who believes in something and condemn them as 'hyporites'. To such attitudes I have but one thing to say, "The only thing worse than a hyprocrite, is someone who hides behind one"
Actually.. there are two things, "He/She who is without sin, cast the first stone" Show me a secular non Christian person who has NEVER gone against their own set of values for selfish opportunistic reasons and I definitely will join those flying pigs.

Usually attacks of 'hypocrite' are based on the assumption that the targeted person perceives their OWN life as spotless and without blemish. Nothing could be further from the truth ! Some pathetic and 'Fred Phelps' types might feel they are pretty special, but most of we Godbotherers would say of sinners "There but by Gods grace go I"
Sometimes, in spite of Grace we still tread the well worn path of 'the flesh' only to be reminded of our straying and the beauty of what we departed from, returning to Him who makes new.

When people of some Christian persuasion are in positions of governmental responsibility, they will call things as they see them, in the context of the perceived community mood and the mandate they received at election time.

So, to all anti 'godbotherers' .. stop bothering us about 'imposing' our values on the community, after all, if they are not 'ours' (i.e. the 73% odd to whom the religious aspect of Easter are meaningful) they will be YOURS, get over the fact that other people have a democratic right to exercise their rights.

I find the mix of Abbot (Catholic) Howard (Anglican) and Costello (Baptist) quite refreshing in terms of denominational harmony.

And surprise surprise, they actually make mistakes, they even SIN.. God forbid, hmm.. perhaps they are human ?