Eugenics alive and well Down Under
Eugenics is alive and well amongst Australian reproductive health lobbyists, it seems. Sleuthing by journalist Angela Shanahan, of The Australian, unearthed an embarrassing coincidence. The Federal Parliament is studying public funding for abortion and amongst submissions to the inquiry were two which were word-for-word identical. They came from the Parliamentary Group on Population and Development, which includes 41 MPs, and an abortion provider group, the Reproductive Health Alliance. Subsequently 7 MPs have disowned the conclusions of the report made in their name.

And little wonder, as they include a strongly eugenic argument for continuing government financial support for abortion: "The financial cost of caring for a severely disabled individual is high not only for the family, but for the greater community. Removing item 16525 [funding for second-trimester abortions] would save the Commonwealth, by some estimates, A$181,560 per year… Adequately supporting an individual with high support needs costs the community and families far more than this. It is logical to assume that an increase in demand for disability services as a result of the abolishment of item 16525 will place greater demand on what is already an underfunded and overwhelmed sector."

It should be noted that the Reproductive Health Alliance "does not suggest that individuals with severe disabilities cannot live a full, productive, and inclusive life in Australian society". However, it insists that the financial impact of allowing disabled people to live cannot be ignored. ~ Australian, Nov 1

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Michael Cook

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