Barnaby Joyce Joins Pro-Life Rally as NSW Weighs Ban on Sex-Selective Abortion
One Nation's Barnaby Joyce joined pro-life campaigners outside the New South Wales parliament in Sydney last month, urging a crowd of roughly 1,500 to keep pressure on Nationals MPs ahead of a tight upper house vote on a bill banning sex-selective abortion.
"You must keep that fire burning for those people who can't stand up for themselves, and I call them people, they're not foetuses," Joyce told the rally. "They are people." He acknowledged the political cost of the stance: "Politically, does this make you popular? Nup, nup. Probably lose half the votes every time you do it. But you know why you do it? Because it's the right thing to do."
The bill, introduced by Libertarian MLC John Ruddick, would ban abortions performed for sex-selection purposes only. It needs approval from both the upper and lower houses, and NSW Labor, Liberal and National MPs have been granted conscience votes. Abortion was decriminalized across NSW in 2019.
Dr. Joanna Howe, the University of Adelaide law professor who organized the rally, told the crowd the four Nationals members of the upper house stood between the bill and passage. "We are so close to passing the first-ever pro-life bill through a house of parliament this country has ever seen," Howe said, adding a warning to holdout lawmakers: "If you don't vote for this bill, Barnaby's coming for you." She has said she plans to organize grassroots campaigns in Nationals-held seats ahead of the state election in March 2027, and to next push for a ban on late-term abortions.
The bill drew opposition from medical and political figures. NSW Health Minister Ryan Park said he did not want abortion "back into the criminal code," and Royal Australian College of Obstetricians and Gynaecologists president Dr. Nisha Khot said the bill was "predicated on misinformation," noting laws already bar sex-selective abortion for non-medical reasons. As of early June, debate on the bill had concluded in the upper house without a vote being called, leaving its fate still pending.
Final Thoughts
Every child deserves protection regardless of sex, and Australia's pro-life movement is showing that grassroots pressure can move even reluctant lawmakers. Priests for Life stands with campaigners like Dr. Howe and lawmakers like Sen. Joyce who are willing to risk popularity for the sake of the unborn.
Sources: The Guardian reporting by Luca Ittimani on the Sydney rally and the NSW abortion bill.
Related resources: International pro-life outreach at PriestsForLife.org
