Some pregnant women could be banned from having abortions in South Australia under a controversial proposal by an opposition MP.
The last time the Liberal Party was in power, between 2018 and 2022, it decriminalized abortion and legalized late terminations after evaluation by two medical professionals.
But Liberal Upper House member Ben Hood has reopened the divisive debate with a private bill on the issue.
Hood, who was elected in the March 2022 election after existing legislation was passed, said the proposed changes “offer an alternative approach” to how late-term abortions are handled.
The Conservative MP’s amendments would mean that women who want to have an abortion after 27 weeks and six days will give birth to the baby alive rather than stillborn.
“What we are doing is trying to balance the rights of the woman to be able to choose termination of pregnancy, but also the rights of the child,” Mr. Hood told the alphabet.
Vincent Tarzia, recently installed by the Liberals, said Hood’s proposed changes were not party policy, but another of his colleagues criticized the plan.
Michelle Lensink, who also sits in South Africa’s upper house, said it was “one of the worst laws I’ve ever seen written.”
Some pregnant women could be banned from having abortions in South Australia under a controversial proposal by an opposition MP (file image)
Ms Lensink, who belongs to the moderate wing of the party, was a minister in the previous Liberal government that introduced the abortion changes in parliament.
But the conservative wing of the party is resurgent in South Australia, as evidenced by Tarzia taking over as leader after the more centrist David Speirs resigned, declaring that he had “had a fit” of internal party machinations.
Although the right does not have overall control of the party in the state, it had enough influence to ensure that Tarzia replaced Speirs.
Liberal Conservatives were unhappy with the way changes to abortion legislation were handled during the previous administration led by Steven Marshall.
The timing of Hood’s bill being introduced, so soon after the Liberals switched to a Conservative leader, has been questioned, although he had reportedly been working on it for some time.
“He is engaging in the kind of internal party politics designed presumably for the preselections (for the 2026 election) that are taking place right now, rather than genuine reform,” said Labor deputy prime minister Susan Close.
But Hood said his statement was “pretty offensive” to him and was “something I’ve been passionate about for a number of years, even before I got into politics.”
Earlier this month, videos and photos emerged that appeared to show Speirs snorting white powder from a plate.
Although the images come from inside his home and the person photographed bears a strong resemblance to Speirs, he said it is not him and suggested the images could be “deeply false.”
The Conservative MP’s amendments would mean that women who want to have an abortion after 27 weeks and six days will give birth to the baby alive rather than stillborn (file image)
The video’s metadata revealed it was taken at 4:12 a.m. on June 30, when Speirs was still Liberal leader.
A second time-stamped still image two hours later showed the same man on the kitchen bench with seven lines of white powder on his plate and a plastic bank card visible.
Daily Mail Australia is not suggesting Speirs did anything illegal.
Mr Hood has been contacted for comment.