The Greens have renewed their call for publicly funded abortions after private service Marie Stopes announced yesterday it was shutting down four regional clinics in Queensland and New South Wales.

Lines attributable to Greens deputy leader and spokesperson on women Senator Larissa Waters:

“The news that Marie Stopes is shutting down four regional clinics in Queensland and New South Wales is a massive blow for women’s reproductive health. 

It is absolutely shameful that in my home state of New South Wales and in the state of Queensland abortion still sits in the Crimes Act. As a woman, as a mother of a young woman, and as someone who has campaigned for years to decriminalise abortion in New South Wales, I cannot and I will not accept this situation. Mr President, the existence of these laws actually exposes the misogyny and the influence of the religious far Right on our politics. Neither my religion nor yours should be allowed to deny women their rights and choices. You cannot impose your beliefs on others.