Repeal Section 8

In October 2008 the Parliament of Victoria passed a law to liberalise abortion. Section 8 of this legislation compels a doctor’s cooperation – against his or her conscience – in the referral process of abortion (See Abortion Law Reform Act 2008 – SECT 8).

Repeal Section 8 is a call to the people of Victoria to support a move to repeal this anti-conscience clause in the state election due in November 2010.

Candidates for election will be challenged to answer the simple question “will you vote to repeal section 8?” The answer to this question will determine whether a candidate will defend liberty of conscience in this nation.

Section 8 compels a doctor, regardless of his or her beliefs about abortion and regardless of whether he or she considers abortion to be in the patient’s best medical interest, to refer to another doctor who is known to be in favour of abortion. However the issue is bigger than just the involvement of medicine – it truly reflects our future.

This is not a call to overturn the abortion law itself.

As a nation we must realise the significance of what has been done here. It is one thing to legislate to permit a certain course of action but it is wrong to legislate to compel people to participate in such action when they consider this to be un-ethical or against their conscience. This principle applies in all walks of life but it is particularly wrong when such actions are considered un-ethical by well-established codes of professional conduct.

Infringement of conscience is a serious challenge facing modern medicine.  Medical codes of conduct must never be subject to degradation by government.

Your vote counts!

Please check candidates responses and we ask you to support the candidates who have stated their intention to repeal this clause.

If the candidate you are then voting for belongs to a minor party or is an independent be assured your vote will follow on AT FULL VALUE to your major party of choice if your first choice does not get elected.