Hundreds have rallied in front of NSW Parliament.
Former Australian Prime Minister Tony Abbott has described an impending New South Wales (NSW) abortion bill is another step towards cancelling religious faith in public institutions.
Former leader Abbott spoke to a rally attended by hundreds of people outside NSW Parliament House on May 7.
Abbott said it would leave Christian-based health service providers in a difficult situation.
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Former Australian Prime Minister Tony Abbott holds a press conference in Canberra on Sept. 15, 2015. Stefan Postles/Getty Images
“It’s really about cancelling faith in our public life.”
“It’s a terrible milestone in the decline of our society and it’s a fundamental assault on freedom of conscience,” Abbott said.
What Else is in the Bill?
The Abortion Law Reform Amendment (Health Care Access) Bill 2025 amends the Abortion Law Reform Act 2019.
It expands authority to nurses and midwives to prescribe abortion drugs (including MS-2), and obligates the health minister to make sure abortion services are within a “reasonable distance” of residents’ homes.
The new bill also removes mandatory reporting requirements for healthcare practitioners.
Greens Claim Abortion is ‘Health Care’
Greens NSW spokesperson for Health Amanda Cohn, who introduced the bill, claimed “abortion is health care.”
She said in recent months there had been widespread reporting of heartbreaking stories about people being refused care at regional public hospitals.
“In December, NSW Health apologised to patients affected by limitations on abortion services at public hospitals, including in Queanbeyan and Orange,” she said.
“The Minister for Health intervened in those cases, and I am grateful for that intervention, but the current legislative and regulatory framework for abortion in New South Wales allows that to keep happening.”
NSW MP Says Australia Should Push for More Children, Not Less
Outside the steps of Parliament House, upper house Libertarian MP John Ruddick said Australia was going through a “baby drought” and historically low birth rates.
“We should be encouraging life as much as possible. It’s a massive crisis. We should be encouraging babies not aborting them.”
Ruddick also said that it was important to mobilise the pro life movement in this country.
“We often hear about the most vulnerable in society. We often hear that there’s a competition to see who’s the most vulnerable in society. It’s very obvious who wins that competition. It’s the little baby in the womb,” he said.
“Because the little baby, the little baby is voiceless and defenseless. But we know they want to grow. We know that they want to live because they keep growing. And every single person here had a mother who said I want to keep this child.”
