Loophole allows baby bonus for late abortions | NEWS.com.au
IT was intended to boost the birth rate, but a legal loophole means the $5000 baby bonus can be claimed for late-term abortions.
The loophole arises because abortions after 20 weeks' gestation are recorded by doctors as stillbirths.
Parents of stillborn babies receive the maternity benefit on compassionate grounds.
The Federal Parliamentary Library, which examined the issue for Liberal senator Cory Bernardi, confirmed the anomaly.
Senator Bernardi said: "This is not a debate about abortion. This is about the baby bonus being misused and misapplied to women who do have terminations.
"Clearly that is not the intention, it's not in keeping with the support of mainstream Australians for the baby bonus."
National Association of Specialist Obstetricians and Gynaecologists chairman Andrew Pesce said there was no legal difference between stillbirths and abortions after 20 weeks.
Dr Pesce said most late-term abortions were prompted by fetal abnormalities.
When it came to women who had a late-term abortion, he said: "I think it is a very humane gesture from society to say, 'You are going through enough already, we're not going to withhold the bonus'."
A spokeswoman for Families Minister Jenny Macklin maintained the baby bonus was not available for aborted pregnancies.
"If there is any evidence of this occurring we will follow it up immediately," she said.
The loophole emerged ahead of a push to axe Medicare funding for late and mid-term abortions.
IT was intended to boost the birth rate, but a legal loophole means the $5000 baby bonus can be claimed for late-term abortions.
The loophole arises because abortions after 20 weeks' gestation are recorded by doctors as stillbirths.
Parents of stillborn babies receive the maternity benefit on compassionate grounds.
The Federal Parliamentary Library, which examined the issue for Liberal senator Cory Bernardi, confirmed the anomaly.
Senator Bernardi said: "This is not a debate about abortion. This is about the baby bonus being misused and misapplied to women who do have terminations.
"Clearly that is not the intention, it's not in keeping with the support of mainstream Australians for the baby bonus."
National Association of Specialist Obstetricians and Gynaecologists chairman Andrew Pesce said there was no legal difference between stillbirths and abortions after 20 weeks.
Dr Pesce said most late-term abortions were prompted by fetal abnormalities.
When it came to women who had a late-term abortion, he said: "I think it is a very humane gesture from society to say, 'You are going through enough already, we're not going to withhold the bonus'."
A spokeswoman for Families Minister Jenny Macklin maintained the baby bonus was not available for aborted pregnancies.
"If there is any evidence of this occurring we will follow it up immediately," she said.
The loophole emerged ahead of a push to axe Medicare funding for late and mid-term abortions.
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