The battle for unbiased pregnancy advice
Abortion is again entering the debating arena, this time over the issue of unbiased pregnancy counselling. The government-funded “Pregnancy Help Australia” is being labelled by the Democrats as anti-choice. In March this year the Government announced the establishment of a 24 Hour National Pregnancy Support Telephone Helpline along with a Medicare payment for pregnancy counselling, at a cost $51 million dollars over four years. However, Democrats’ Spokesperson for the Status of Women, Senator Natasha Stott Despoja remains skeptical of these initiatives. According to Senator Stott Despoja, the organization’s constitution expressly states that it will not offer women advice on pregnancy termination.