Politics

Barnaby Joyce slams push to legalise abortion with passionate speech about son

Aug 01, 2019

Barnaby Joyce has slammed a bill to decriminalise abortion in New South Wales. Source: Getty

Former Nationals leader Barnaby Joyce has sparked outrage in parliament by slamming a bill to decriminalise abortion in New South Wales.

The father-of-six – who famously left his wife before starting a family with new partner and former staffer Vikki Campion last year – argued against the bill in parliament on Thursday, using the example of his new baby son in a passionate speech.

“On the 1st of June, Vikki’s and my son Tom took his first breath. This was not the start of his life,” the former deputy prime minister explained. “The reality is he was part of this world for some time and was merely passing from one room to another.”

Joyce argued his son had rights long before he was born and no person, doctor or parliament, had the power to take that away.

“Inside the womb, Tom kicked, punched, grabbed his umbilical cord, felt pain, slept and dreamed,” he added. “With ultrasound he was most certainly seen in real human form. To say he didn’t have the rights of other human life is to say he must be sub-human.”

He continued: “I don’t believe that any person, any doctor, any parliament, has the power today to declassify another person as less than human, and by so doing removing their fundamental right to be alive.

“In the NSW parliament they are debating whether Tom had no classification of human rights. Whether before his umbilical cord was cut, he was subhuman.”

Joyce was slammed for his comments online, with one Twitter user writing: “Shut up and go away,” while another added: “You’re a grub.”

However others supported him, with one writing: “Well said Barnaby, hopefully some of your colleagues also have the courage to speak up and defend those innocents who cant do it for themselves. Ignore the haters!”

After being inundated with backlash online, Joyce later took to Twitter to support his argument against the bill, writing: “In politics you have to fight the hard fights not just easy ones. I believe the other side of this debate is not being heard and I have a duty to ventilate it. This legislation must go to a committee so others can have the same right, to ventilate an alternate view.”

In politics you have to fight the hard fights not just easy ones. I believe the other side of this debate is not being heard and I have a duty to ventilate it.
This legislation must go to a committee so others can have the same right, to ventilate an alternate view. pic.twitter.com/2BQciRChth

— Barnaby Joyce (@Barnaby_Joyce) August 1, 2019

Independent MP Alex Greenwich presented the Reproductive Health Care Reform Bill 2019 to the lower house on Thursday morning, allowing for terminations up to 22 weeks and later if two doctors “consider that, in all the circumstances, the termination should be performed”. Should it pass, NSW will become the last state to decriminalise abortion in Australia.

It’s been a controversial week for the former deputy prime minister who revealed on Monday he’s struggling to support two separate families on his staggering $211,000 a year salary – so much so he’s having to slaughter his own animals to feed himself.

Joyce exclusively revealed to the Courier Mail that he’s spread so thin he’s having to turn off his heater at night to save money – and considers a cup of coffee a treat.