Sarah Game Bill Passes 10-9, South Australia Abortion Laws Move On
Sarah Game’s late-term bill cleared its first hurdle in the South Australian Upper House by 10 votes to nine, moving south australia abortion laws into the lower house for debate. The result came after about an hour and a half of debate and puts the issue before the next chamber immediately.
Sarah Game and the Upper House
Game, an Upper House MLC, said on Wednesday morning that a fast-tracked approach was “not what I would have chosen”. She added, “Look, ideally we would have had more time to campaign and get our message out,”
The vote went through after the newer One Nation members who joined the upper house in March backed the bill. Greens MLC Melanie Selwood and Labor MLC Hilton Gumbys voted against it after the debate, and most continuing upper house members voted the same way they did when Game tried similar legislation in November.
Peter Malinauskas and Parliament House
Premier Peter Malinauskas said on the day of the vote that he would not allow the issue to “hijack” the government’s agenda. Outside Parliament House, a rally coordinated by Joanna Howe ran alongside the vote, with supporters handing out red balloons and placards saying “thou shall not kill” and “ban lethal injections”.
One Nation MP Chantelle Thomas spoke to protesters and said she would “speak up for these babies”. She told them, “They don’t have a voice, but we do. And that is why I stand here today to be the strong voice for these babies that are not heard,”
Joanna Howe’s Rally
Howe called the result a “David and Goliath victory” and said, “If we can get it through one house in three years, we will get it through the whole damn place in the next three,” She also said, “There is still a mountain to climb, but tonight we are halfway there.”
After the Upper House vote, the bill was set to progress immediately to the lower house for debate. That gives the next chamber the first chance to decide whether the 10-9 result holds or the bill stops there.
