Termination of Pregnancy (Restrictions on Terminations After 24 Weeks and 6 Days) Amendment Bill

The Hon. H.J. GUMBYS (17:34): I was not scheduled to speak today, but I felt compelled to put my position on the record. I have no speaking notes, so I apologise to my colleagues in the Hansard balcony. I am new to this role; I have come from a completely different environment. What this role has given me is the opportunity to talk to people from all walks of life, to hear their stories and appreciate their different points of view—and not just talk to them, but to actually listen.

I got the opportunity to do that yesterday when the Hon. Mira El Dannawi held an education session. I am not an expert on many matters, but I listened to the experts yesterday. A hard line date is problematic in that catastrophic health issues often cannot be identified at a particular date or line in time. I will listen to those experts.

I will be brief. I stand in the chamber here where I hear people talk about freedom of choice, and government getting out of the way. I heard people say compassion is a non-negotiable. Well, I ask you to consider compassion today, and consider that this would be one of the hardest choices that a woman will ever have to make, and we should support them to make that choice with the medical advice available to them. Thank you for indulging me, Mr President.