Costello on Medicare Abortion Funding
Filed on 04 February 2005 in Media Releases category. 
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“Wrong, Mr Costello,” said Dr Lachlan Dunjey, candidate for Legislative Council in the coming state election, “withdrawal of abortion funding would not force women into backyard procedures, people would simply foot the cost. What it would do is immediately give an incentive to no longer think of abortion as just another form of contraception.”
It was reported in The West Australian today that Peter Costello said that changing Commonwealth funding for abortion would force women into backyard procedures.
“Let’s get it right: abortion is an operation of choice not necessity, just like plastic surgery for purely cosmetic (as opposed to restorative) reasons,” Dr Dunjey continued, “but the latter is not funded by Medicare whereas abortion is. Neither is abortion life-saving – in fact it is a grisly procedure of death and destruction of innocent human life.”
Dr Dunjey commented that the Medicare funding of abortion, including surgeon, anaesthetist and theatre fee, conservatively costs around $50 million a year and that this amount could fund osteoporosis treatment which is currently unavailable until the patient has had a fracture. It could also fund many other life-saving therapies.
He added, “Cutting abortion funding would immediately send a message of responsibility to the community and probably halve the number of abortions in Australia. As many of these are related to indiscriminate sex, think also of the saving to government of VD treatment. Why can’t we tell the truth like we do with smoking and drink-driving? Unprotected sex has a cost! It is not free!”
Dr Lachlan Dunjey.
4.2.2005
