Anti-abortion activists are trying to limit access in NSW – and they are just getting started

The man who wants to ban “sex-selective abortions” is the first person who will tell you it won’t work. New South Wales Libertarian party MLC John Ruddick has introduced legislation that would see health practitioners sent to prison or fined thousands if they carry out a termination because of the sex of a foetus. But the experts, the evidence, and history show that laws like these tend to target immigrants, increase stigma and wind back reproductive rights. Sign up for the Breaking News Australia email In NSW, it’s entirely a woman’s choice if she wants an abortion up to 22 weeks, but this law would mean health practitioners would have to question her about her reasons, which could put her off seeking help, and the practitioner off providing the abortion. Ruddick concedes it’s not an enforceable law. “If a mother still wants to abort because of their child’s sex they can obviously say it’s for any other reason and no one will know,” he says. So what’s the point of having this debate? It will send a message, he says. He says the message will be that girls and boys are equal when it comes to abortion (or as One Nation MP Barnaby Joyce awkwardly put it: “This law in NSW must be passed or otherwise we all accept that sex selection is appropriate. …