‘The shock of my life’: How Rita Panahi’s son shaped her view on abortion
Rita Panahi has revealed how having her son has helped shape her views on abortion.
NSW Parliament is currently debating a new bill which would see abortion decriminalised.
But public debate has been raging over the legislation, with some concerned it would allow more access to late-term abortions.
Rita Panahi tells Steve Price having her son has made her very wary of late-term terminations.
“As a woman who’s had a child, just going through that process really educated me because I had an ultrasound around 17 weeks and I got the shock of my life!
“I was expecting to see sort of a clump of cells and something misshapen and it was a baby. It looked like it was ready to be born.”
Although Rita is pro-choice and thinks abortions should be available in the first trimester, she says she’s worried about the prospect of aborting a foetus that could survive outside the womb.
“Frankly, that is the majority view, Steve, and it’s a view that nobody seems to take note of when they’re debating this in Parliament.
“If the mother’s life is not in danger and her health is not in jeopardy, then it is an issue.”
Click PLAY below to hear the full interview