A reflection on pro-life policy, submitted by a Member from Victoria
Being pro-life means so much more than advocating the banning or restricting of abortion. Indeed, a truly authentic and consistent pro-life position requires a comprehensive framework of policies that empower the mother, protect the child and support the family.
Only with a comprehensive pro-life approach can we foster a culture of life and drive social and political reform. Comprehensive pro-life policy focuses on building a system that provides the economic, social and practical support needed to support life in difficult circumstances. It focuses on shaping a culture that cherishes the equal dignity of each and every person, regardless of age or ability.
For a start, a comprehensive pro-life approach includes:
- Systematically eliminating the root causes that drive women to abortion, such as a lack of practical resources and support, through holistic, women-centred solutions.
- Ensuring every mother has access to a local support networks that offer safe spaces and innovative avenues for vulnerable women to access vital perinatal support.
- Ensuring that workplaces and educational institutions do not force women to choose between their education or career and their children but instead offer supportive arrangements.
- Building a society that values the roles of both motherhood and fatherhood.
- Reforming the tax system to properly recognise that a parent’s income supports children rather than setting income tax rates as if kids don’t exist.
- Sufficiently resourcing neonatal intensive care so that it is available to all preborn babies diagnosed with a life-shortening condition and ensuring that parents are fully informed of life-affirming options available like neonatal palliative care.
These are just some examples, but there are many more such initiatives.
I am proud to be part of a political party that has the right set of foundational principles and values to support the ‘bigger view’ of an authentic pro-life approach. I hope the Party takes this into account as it articulates its life policies ahead of the next elections.
