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Salient. Victoria University Student Newspaper. Vol. 37, No. 7. April, 17 1974

The right to act according to one's own conscience

The right to act according to one's own conscience

We recognise that some people sincerely believe abortion to be morally wrong. We are aware that there are Catholic and other women whose beliefs would never allow them to consider abortion for themselves. We respect their point of view and do not ask for a moment that they act any differently from the way their consciences guide them.

We would appreciate a similarly generous outlook towards those who want legal abortion available. No-one should have the right to coerce another into acting against their will, especially when it is a matter concerning their own body. Anti-abortionists have no right to force their particular brand of page break morality onto the rest of the population through the laws of the land or through any other official channels.

Photo of two men with an anti-abortion sign

Successive governments have been guilty of perpetrating the coercion of women by refusing to remove the restrictions on abortion. Recently, we have seen both sides of the Mouse assuring Members that should the abortion issue arise in Parliament they will have a "conscience" vote. It is the height of injustice and hypocrisy to propose to exercise this right to Parliament while continuing to deny it to the public. If it is a "conscience" issue, why docs the law have to come into it?