Women’s sexual and reproductive health
Georgie PURCELL (Northern Victoria) (10:04): Recently I shared the exciting news that I am pregnant. When I made this deeply personal announcement I spoke of how this pregnancy has only solidified my belief in reproductive choice. Many will know that this is not my first pregnancy, but it is the first that I have decided to proceed with. I feel more grateful than ever before that I had access to options to allow myself to make this decision on my own terms at a time that I felt I was mentally and physically able to. I owe an explanation for these decisions to precisely nobody, but it seems nothing is off limits to anti-choicers. Within a day of this announcement they got busy online, using CapCut and Canva and making content saying things like ‘Georgie Purcell only cares about her babies when it’s convenient’, ‘Georgie wants this baby girl, so she’ll let her live’, ‘Georgie Purcell, it’s incredibly twisted to celebrate the baby you killed in your prior abortion’. To them I say this: being in public life does not make me public property. My body and the choices I have made with it in the past are not a possession for you to advance your harmful, shameful and dangerous political agendas. Abortion will always be part of my journey into motherhood, and I will never shy away from saying that. So to those anti-choice and, frankly, anti-women activists, thank you for reminding me that I will never stop using my platform to ensure that my daughter grows up in a state where she will always have a right to choose.