Melbourne, Australia, Sep 24, 2008 / 02:59 am
Archbishop Denis Hart of Melbourne, Australia is railing against a bill in the state of Victoria, which will require doctors who object to performing abortions to do so in “emergencies,” among other anti-conscience rules. The Catholic archbishop labeled the bill "a real threat to the continued existence of Catholic hospitals.”
“I write now with a deep sadness for mothers-to-be and children yet to be born, and with a profound sense of anguish at the draconian clauses in the Bill which attack long held religious beliefs and practice,” wrote Archbishop Hart.
“Make no mistake about it,” he continued, “the Bill goes beyond codifying current clinical practice, as its proponents claim, and will set an unfortunate precedent which other states may follow.”
Among the numerous objections to the Bill he dubbed, “an unprecedented attack on the freedom to hold and exercise fundamental religious beliefs,” the archbishop named the requirement for health professionals with conscientious objection to abortion to provide a referal to an abortionist and the demand that objecting doctors be made to perform an abortion in an “emergency.” These mandates make a “mockery of the Victorian Charter of Human Rights and the Equal Opportunity Act,” Archbishop Hart said.
The Archbishop of Melbourne also pointed out that the bill is “clearly intended to require Catholic hospitals to permit the referral of women for abortions.