South Australians seeking to terminate a pregnancy in the third trimester may soon face a new legal requirement to deliver the baby alive under proposed legislation by Liberal MP Ben Hood. Hood argues the change is aimed at protecting children's rights, but critics warn it could severely infringe on women's rights, sparking a heated debate over reproductive freedom and medical autonomy.
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00:00It was lauded as an historic day for the women of South Australia, but three years after
00:08State Parliament decriminalised abortion, one MP wants the laws changed.
00:13What my amendments hope to do is to balance the choice of the mother with the rights of
00:19the child.
00:20Ben Hood will introduce a private members bill to State Parliament on Wednesday that
00:25would require people who want to terminate their pregnancy after 28 weeks to be induced
00:30and deliver their baby alive.
00:32When that child is born alive it will receive neonatal care as premature deliveries do and
00:40then if it is the choice of the mother that baby will be put up for adoption.
00:44It is a world first, this is a win-win for the mother and the child because after 28
00:49weeks, instead of delivering a stillborn baby, the mother will deliver the child alive.
00:55But those who oppose the bill argue it would be a backwards step.
00:59Brigid Coombe from SA's Abortion Action Coalition says the current laws have already gone through
01:04rigorous scrutiny and debate.
01:06Those changes remove the basis of informed consent and they don't recognise at all the
01:12complexity of the circumstances that people are in when they are needing an abortion.
01:17In a statement, Opposition Leader Vincent Tarsier said the proposal was not Liberal
01:21Party policy and the bill would instead be a matter of conscience.
01:25We're six weeks into Vincent Tarsier's leadership and we've got a Liberal Party brawl that's
01:30happening internally over reforms that they initiated on abortion.
01:34This is something that has been worked on for a number of months, well before any leadership
01:38change within the Liberal Party.
01:39The last reforms passed Parliament in 2021 with the backing of several senior Liberal
01:44MPs, including former Attorney-General Vicky Chapman.
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