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His Grace, Denis Hart, Catholic Archbishop of Melbourne  has spoken  out strongly  against the Abortion Law Reform Bill 2008 and the proposal  to decriminalize abortion.

"Treating abortion as an ordinary medical procedure deprives the unborn, our most vulnerable  human beings, of the legal protection which the law should afford them. An abortion is not like  any other medical procedure and any attempt to treat it as such should be opposed both for the  sake of the unborn and for the sake of women who may be pressured to have an abortion," the Archbishop said.

"Abortion, understood as the intentional destruction of the unborn child in the womb, is always  wrong and unjust. The unborn child is a human being entitled to the protection of the law no less than any of us. Every attempt to harm an innocent human person violates principles of justice and is always wrong. There are many alternatives to the death and destruction cultivated by the  Bill. The welfare of mothers and families should be a first priority in the formation of public  policy.

"The Bill fails the objectives set for it by the government. It does not reflect current clinical  practice and community standards and also fails to provide legal certainty to women or medical practitioners and should be opposed.

"The Bill does nothing to reduce the incidence of abortion," he said. The Bill permits all  abortions up to 24 weeks if performed by a medical practitioner.

"While the Victorian Law Reform Commission found that less than 1% of abortions are  performed after 20 weeks gestation, the Bill - in allowing abortions up to 24 weeks pregnancy, increases the possibility of a much larger number of abortions occurring, when a substantial majority of the community want a reduction in the number of abortions.

"It places restrictions on abortions after 24 weeks which are bound to be ineffective. The  restrictions imposed after 24 weeks will deter no-one; no doctor ever need fear prosecution,"  the Archbishop said.

The Bill permits pharmacists and nurses to supply or administer drugs to women upto 24 weeks of pregnancy, without the supervision of a medical practitioner.

The Archbishop said, "The so called ‘conscientious objection clauses’ are a totally  unacceptable interference in the freedom of those doctors and nurses who refuse to take part in,  or sanction, the deliberate destruction of human life. In certain circumstances it compels doctors  to do the very thing to which they conscientiously object, namely the killing of an unborn child.  The Bill is a clear breach of the human rights of doctors and nurses forcing them to act against  conscientiously held moral, cultural or religious beliefs."

Archbishop Hart called on the community to choose life and reject abortion.