Australian Broadcasting Corporation
Posted on 07/08/2004 11:49:51 AM PDT by Tai_Chung
THE abortion of a four-week-old foetus will be broadcast on Australian television after the ABC agreed to show the graphic British documentary My Foetus.
In what is an Australian first, the film will be broadcast on the religious affairs show Compass on August 8 despite sparking a vehement public debate in Britain.
It shows a four-week-old foetus being sucked out of a woman's womb using the "manual vacuum aspiration" technique, and footage of the dismembered remains of foetuses from the ages of 12 to 21 weeks.
The film was produced by Julia Black, the daughter of the founder of the pro-abortion British Marie Stopes clinic, who was heavily pregnant during the filming.
In the film, 34-year-old Black, who describes herself as pro-choice, struggles with the memory of the abortion she had at the age of 21.
She told journalists that after making the film she realised there "is a difference" between an abortion at eight weeks and a woman who aborts her foetus at 24 weeks, later in her term.
When the film was screened in Britain, Channel 4 broadcast a warning at the outset and offered viewers a helpline to call if they were traumatised by the images.
Newspaper opinion pages were filled with debate about the merits of screening such confronting footage, and commentators and politicians debated the legal limit of 24 weeks for abortion in Britain.
This week, British Prime Minister Tony Blair indicated that new medical research, such as the ultrasound scan showing a foetus "walking" in the womb at 12 weeks, could prompt a reassessment of the legal time-limit for abortions.
Health Minister Tony Abbott has stirred up public discussion about abortion in Australia in recent months, after he lamented the "national tragedy" of Australian women having 100,000 abortions a year.
Mr Abbott questioned Medicare support for 75,000 abortions annually, although John Howard said there would be no change to the public funding of terminations.
Australian women can legally have an abortion up until 20 weeks into a pregnancy.
It's called the Evening News with Peter Jennings.
Oh, I thought the new Disney values were at it again
I suggest adding "(Australian Network)" to the title to avoid the obvious confusion.
Kevorkian went to jail for killing a willing victim on TV. I believe it was 60 minutes.
What difference is that? The size of the chunks?
I will never understand those who draw distinctions on human life...
But if they are going to show mutilated children in a war, I guess this is fair game..
Awwwww
Eating our babies, just like Israel did when they turned from God to idols.
Ultrasounds did it for me.
Australian Broadcasting Corporation
More liberals abort their babies than do conservatives, therefore, 18 years down the road, there will be less liberals in the voting pool to continue voting for these barbaric abortions.
"Have you ever noticed that all the people that support abortion have already been born?"
Seems like good 'balance' in the sex education arena.
Just because the Aussies sent us Nicole Kidman and Hugh Jackman, doesn't mean they're civilized. Their culture is down in the gutter too, like ours.
Why how could you possibly be so medically and scientifically unenlightened in this mega-scientific era? Doncha know that a magical transformation takes place during the short trip down the birth canal? [The doc or midwife says "hocus-pocus" & poof, humanity emerges].
Now for those who believe that personhood begins at viability [whatever that means], we have a worldview exactly for that scenario as well. You see, if Mom wants that baby, he or she is magically converted into a baby. If not, it's an it & remains a blob of cells.
Now for the pre-viability stage understanding, it's all a matter of faith. If you believe in the tooth fairy, Santa Claus, and the Easter Bunny, then certainly you can extend that faith to the womb. We tolerate all faiths here. If, on the other hand, you don't believe in ultrasounds and fetology and anything obstetricians learn in med school about this parasite being a second patient, that's not only fine but fits in better living under the umbrella of omnipotent judges.
The Aussies have much more justification. Consider our upright, tho humble, beginnings in 1776. Then compare Australia's jumpstart of British prisoners emigrated from the Kingdom.
Disclaimer: Opinions posted on Free Republic are those of the individual posters and do not necessarily represent the opinion of Free Republic or its management. All materials posted herein are protected by copyright law and the exemption for fair use of copyrighted works.