The Sociology of Abortion Politics, Aussie-Style

Published on Seattle Star.

This week, on 11 May 2017, a bill to decriminalize abortion in the state of New South Wales, Australia, was defeated 14 to 25. This means abortion, despite a two year legislative campaign ,remains a crime under the Criminal Act.

Greens MP and Spokesperson for the Status of Women, Dr. Mehreen Faruqi MLC, who led the campaign to decriminalize said: “This bill was not about promoting or not promoting abortion. It was about choice.”

Another separate bill to establish 150 meter safe zones to protect abortion clinics has been introduced by Labor MP Penny Sharpe. This bill works to eliminate harassment and intimidation by anti-choice lobbyists who film and degrade women who walk into clinics.

In NSW, women can access abortions only with their doctor’s consent that there are “reasonable grounds” for the abortion; linked to physical and mental danger. Otherwise, abortion is punishable by five years in jail.

This law has been in place since the 1970s, but stems back to 1900. Counter to national myths of our egalitarianism, abortion laws unearth how gender inequality is maintained by  a white, conservative Christian patriarchal ideology, seeking to control women’s autonomy. Sociological studies show how medical professionals have long been at the vanguard of changing public opinion on abortion, by moving away from moral arguments to a woman’s private medical choice.

Christian lobby groups, who hold strong political power, push back against medical and community views, using emotional imagery to influence abortion laws. This has proven effective over time, and continues to hold back progress in New South Wales (and Queensland, another conservative stronghold). Despite this recent set-back, momentum towards progressive change continues. A better sociological understanding of religiously conservative ideology and tactics may hold the key towards the next legal breakthrough.

Read more on Seattle Star.

Citation

Zevallos, Zuleyka (2017) ‘The Sociology of Abortion Politics, Aussie-Style,’ Seattle Star, 12 June.