One Bread, One Body

It’s pretty official, as I’ve seen the proposed bill listed in the Parliament’s website. Meanwhile, the Archdiocese of Melbourne has already responded firmly:

“Victoria has one of the highest abortion rates in the world with at least 1 in 4 pregnancies ending in abortion. Women with unplanned pregnancies need to be offered alternatives to abortion. No woman should have to choose between her own wellbeing and the life of her child. Yet all too often women report feeling that they had no other option. Abortion has become the only “choice” and is a reflection that we are failing women.”

….

“It is time for politicians and all people of good-will to leave behind the polarised debate of the past and work together to find genuine ways to support women and their families. We call on the parliament to investigate ways of increasing financial and human support for those facing the dilemma of an unexpected pregnancy. Women need good counselling and support, healthcare, welfare and housing assistance. Provision also needs to be made for their educational needs so that they can finish school or university.”

Now isn’t this statement from the Archdiocese much more intelligent than what politicians generally come up with? The postmodern penchant for abortion seems to evade some hard questions. Why are there so many unexpected pregnancies in a society where contraceptives are part of the culture, aggressively advertised and readily available, e.g., supermarkets. Not that I support artificial contraception in the first place, but this trend sure turns reliance on contraception on its head. Another question to ask: why isn’t government willing to focus on abstinence programs which, at the very least, offers a viable concurrent strategy — unless, of course, our politicians are convinced of the utter lack of will and intelligence among Australians.

Still another example of hacking a solution by attacking the symptoms rather than the source of the problem. What are short-sighted, shortcut-crazy people doing in Parliament?