The Australian Christian Lobby (ACL) is running a targeted campaign to promote candidates from all sides of politics who voted against allowing easier access to late-term abortions in South Australia.
The lobby group has produced pamphlets highlighting whether or not Legislative Council members voted for an amendment to a bill last year to decriminalise abortion that would have severely restricted terminations after 23 weeks, along with the views of prospective parliamentarians.
The legislation passed, but the amendment failed.
The ACL has also set up a website for voters in the March 19 state election to see how their local House of Assembly MP voted on the bill.
The organisation's pamphlet also names MPs and candidates who voted against decriminalising sex work and allowing schools to not employ LGBTQI teachers.
The sex work bill was voted down in 2019.
ACL state director Christopher Brohier said his organisation had told MPs before the vote that it would highlight how they voted ahead of the state election.
"It's a brutal law that has very little limitations and so we thought it important to advise people of who are the people who will not support such legislation."
Greens MLC Tammy Franks said there were only rare situations where late-term abortions were necessary.
She said describing it as "abortion to birth" was misleading.
"I would call it recognising after 23 weeks those awful situations where the doctor and the patient have to take some really, really distressing decisions, but they're done on health care now, not on being cast into the criminal law with no health care possible," she said.
Restrictions on late-term abortions
When abortion was decriminalised in March last year, the changes brought South Australia into line with most jurisdictions in the country.
It will allow abortions under 22 weeks and six days with the consent of the pregnant person, while terminations after that period can occur if deemed appropriate by two medical practitioners.
Late-term abortions will only be approved if there is a threat to the life of the pregnant person or another foetus; if continuing the pregnancy would pose significant risk to the pregnant person's mental health; or if there is a significant risk of serious foetal anomalies associated with the pregnancy.
Medical abortion can be approved via telehealth and there is a South Australian residency requirement.
Family First following similar strategy
The Family First Party — run by conservative Catholic former Labor MPs Tom Kenyon and Jack Snelling — announced last week it would preference candidates who had voted for a failed amendment that tried to limit abortions to 22 weeks gestation, even if they generally leaned left on other issues.
Liberal Premier Steven Marshall and former deputy premier Vickie Chapman supported the abortion bill, while Opposition Leader Peter Malinauskas and senior Labor MPs Tom Koutsantonis and Stephen Mullighan voted against it.
The Liberals argue a vote for Family First is a vote for Labor, but top Family First candidate Tom Kenyon said that was not the case.
"In the seat of Wright, the Labor member for Wright, Blair Boyer, also voted against that amendment and we will be preferencing against him," he said.
"In Mawson, Leon Bignell, the Labor member for Mawson, voted against that amendment and we'll be preferencing against him.
"In Badcoe, the Labor member Jayne Stinson, she voted against that amendment and we will be preferencing against her."
A bill allowing euthanasia passed in 2021; however, Mr Brohier said the ACL could only lobby on so many issues before muddling the message.
