Senator Guy Barnett

Tasmanian Liberal Senator Guy Barnett had intended to move a motion in the Senate on Tuesday to outlaw Medicare funding for abortions between 16 and 24 weeks.

However, the government and opposition agreed to send the motion off to be examined by a committee, delaying a conscience vote on it.

Senator Barnett welcomed the committee's involvement, saying it would help get more facts on the table.

"I intend to reintroduce my motion to disallow Medicare funding following the report of the Senate committee," he said.

Senator Barnett encouraged people to express their views to the Senate committee.

"It is important that the voice of the many Australians who are deeply concerned about this issue is heard."

Now, why would he do this? A concern for woman's health. A matter of physical policy? Or even, matching the outdated law to what happens in real life. I don't think so. Let's look, shall we...

Senator Guy Barnett's extremist religious views

Posted August 22nd, 2006

He’s only been a senator since 2002. But Guy Barnett is now one of the most visible backbenchers in the Australian government, and is widely regarded as a strong ministerial contender.

How did he climb so far, so fast?

Since he entered public life in 1994, arguing against decriminalisation of homosexuality in Tasmania, Guy Barnett’s main claim to fame has been the heterosexuals-only Marriage Act of 2004, which he recently followed up by organising for the ACT same-sex civil unions legislation to be crushed from above.

Parliamentary Convenor of the August 2006 ‘Australian Christian Heritage’ National Forum, Barnett’s interpretation of his Baptist faith brings a very particular emphasis to his political activism.

Greens Senator Sarah Hanson-Young said the motion would make it harder for women to access safe, equitable and legal late-term pregnancy terminations.

"Withdrawing Medicare funding for second-trimester terminations will not only affect women from economically disadvantaged backgrounds, but could also force women to have even later terminations, after being forced to cover the gap, as well as the original fee," Senator Hanson-Young said.

"Women have fought long and hard to be able to make decisions about their health and well being, and the Greens will not be supporting any attempt to turn back the clock on women's reproductive rights."

www.bewareofthegod.com presents the fifth in Chloe Martin’s essential series of Public Information Sheets: Know Your Politician: The Hon Senator Guy Barnett.

Please! DOWNLOAD the PDF and send to friends. A Liberal senator will push ahead with his plan to end Medicare funding for late-term abortions, no matter what the outcome of a parliamentary inquiry into the issue.

Be under no illusion, Senator Guy Barnett is taking a stand against abortion funding to maintain his own Christian views. It has nothing to do with woman or woman's health. He is holding every woman, in Australia, to ransom in 2008 because he chooses to believe in 2000 year old mythical ideas.