The Right to Harass !

Abortion is an emotive issue and because it depends on state legislation the laws that cover it are different in the various Australian states.   Where it is freely available it is usually provided by what are called " Abortion clinics " and these were attended by groups of people who blocked the footpath outside and verbally harassed women intending to visit the clinic.   At times this formed a physical barrier and they  carried lurid protest signs and delivered emotional blackmail to patrons wrestling with this ultimate of personal decisions.

Victoria and Tasmania enacted privacy laws to require groups protesting against abortion to distance themselves  one hundred and fifty metres away from clinic entrances.  These " safe access zone " laws came into effect in 2016 and when protesters ignored them they were hauled into court and fined.   One woman fined $5,000 for this offence is challenging her conviction in the High court on the grounds that her right to political free speech has been violated.

This issue of abortion is as old as the history of humankind itself and represents a collision between church and judicial law.   The Roman Catholic church forbids abortion in all circumstances, but it also forbids all forms of artificial contraception and this harks back to an earlier age when having numerous children was a safeguard to ensure a safe old age.   There was no social security and death claimed many children so large numbers were necessary to ensure some survived to care for their parents.

The modern family of today is more concerned with providing a good standard of living and the education that will enable a smaller number of children to progress in our competitive environment. The progression of medicine has ensured that survival rates are ever expanding and the practice of family groups all living their lives within a small circle of place of birth has expanded to world circulation.

In many countries,  the right of the church to impose its views by way of civil law has been slow to lose its grip and religious fanatics insist that church law is ascendant over civil law, giving them the right to ignore laws that are in conflict with church teachings.   Where this is decided by democratic process the will of the majority takes precedence.

Pregnancy carries with it the responsibility conferred by that same civil law to provide food and nurture for that infant that may not be possible with the family circumstances that prevail.  Many woman attend abortion clinics for counselling and they should be protected from screeching harridans heaping abuse, standing in front of them and blocking their path and issuing vile threats.  Where a parliament has seen fit to provide that protection, the law requires that it be enforced.

Whether the High court decides to rule on this issue is yet to be decided, but in two states a law is in place that forbids the anti abortion brigade from returning to that past congregation on the doorstep of abortion clinics to prevent entry.   That " right to harass "  ended when this law became valid  !