Coalition MPs slammed for abortion claim on changes to include stillbirths in paid parental leave Bill

Coalition MPs claiming women who have late-term abortions could be covered by proposed tweaks to paid parental leave is “deeply cynical politicking”, Health Minister Mark Butler says. Baby Priya’s Bill, dubbed Priya’s Law, is a proposed amendment to the Fair Work Act ensuring parents grieving a stillbirth or neonatal death can access paid parental leave. It is named after a newborn who died at 42 days old and whose mother told she could no longer take her parental leave. While the Bill is specific on what circumstances it covers, several Coalition MPs on Wednesday said they feared women could carry a child to term only to abort it and claim leave – a claim also made about the Stillborn Baby Payment. Liberal MP Andrew Hastie was among those worried about “unintended consequences”. Telling the House of Representatives “it’s no secret that I’m opposed to late term abortions”, Mr Hastie said he wanted “to affirm the intent of this Bill, which is to give certainty for families suffering through the loss of a child”. “And I absolutely support the intent of that and I think it’s a noble and good thing and Baby Priya’s Bill deserves our support for that reason,” he said. “But I do call on the government, and I note the sensitivity around this, but I do call upon the government to clarify that it does not apply to late term abortions.” Fellow Liberal MPs Henry Pike and Tony Pasin, as well as estranged Nationals backbencher Barnaby Joyce, also expressed their concerns. Mr Pasin said paid parental leave “should be available to people who wish to be parents, but for the grace of God, have not become parents through that incident or outcome”. “But it shouldn’t be available … to people who don’t wish to be parents,” he said. Asked about their remarks on Wednesday afternoon, Mr Butler said it was “pretty distressing”. “The definitions here are very clear,” he told the ABC. “A stillbirth is the loss of a foetus or a baby through a natural spontaneous event. “Miscarriage before 20 weeks, stillbirth after 20 weeks gestation. “A medical termination or a surgical termination, as the name suggests, is something very different.” He said trying to “conflate the two things is, I think, a very cynical, deeply distressing political exercise”. “The men who are doing this, and they are all men, know the difference between stillbirth and abortion,” Mr Butler said. He went on to say he had not heard a “Coalition woman go into the chamber and make these arguments”. “It’s all the men on the right wing of the Liberal and the National Party and I just say to them: enough, just stop it,” Mr Butler said. Employment and Workplace Relations Minister Amanda Rishworth has also blasted the Coalition MPs, who she said were trying to “hijack” it. “The loss of a child is devastating,” she said in a statement. “It has a profound and long-lasting impact on parents, families and their communities. “These are incredibly difficult circumstances for workers and employers to navigate. “This Bill will ensure there is greater clarity regarding employer-funded paid parental leave for parents dealing with the tragedy of stillbirth or the death of a child.” Ms Rishworth said it only applied “where there is a lack of clarity on what will happen to an employee’s leave if a child is stillborn or dies after birth”. “We are deeply disappointed that a very small minority have tried to hijack this Bill and pretend it’s about something that it’s not,” she said. “What this Bill is about is giving certainty to grieving parents at the most difficult time of their life. It is a critical piece of legislation that should receive the support of the parliament.”