The use of images of the foetus in the Australian abortion debate, 1998-2009 Kirsty McLaren

174 Pages·2017·27.86 MB·English

Imperative images:
The use of images of the foetus in the Australian
abortion debate, 1998-2009
Kirsty McLaren
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Imperative images:
The use of images of the foetus in the Austrahan
abortion debate, 1998-2009
A thesis submitted for the degree of Master of Philosophy
The Austrahan National University
Kirsty Djalinda McLaren
June 2011

This thesis is my own work. All sources used have been
acknowledged.
1/
Kirsty McLaren

Abstract
This thesis examines the use of images of the foetus in the abortion debate, in
Australia over the last decade. It begins by reviewing existing literature on abortion
in Australia and the emergence internationally of a small body of feminist critique of
foetal images. It then catalogues common images and campaign materials used in
pro-life campaigning in Australia and builds on existing feminist critiques of such
images. It focuses on three cases studies: the Osborne bill in the ACT; Protect Life
sit-ins in Brisbane; and the Tell the Truth campaign in Victoria. These cases
encompass the breadth of pro-life practices and materials across different
jurisdictions. Thus, this thesis presents a detailed record of the contemporary visual
culture of Australian pro-life politics.
I identify three major themes which are represented in pro-life images of the foetus:
the wonder of life; the human form and human frailty of the foetus; and the barbarity
of modern society.
These messages depend on a worldview which combines aspects of religious thought
and scientific knowledge. Images of the foetus provide evidence of its substance and
enable its social embodiment. Yet they also emphasise the fragility and the
vulnerability of the foetus, and invite the empathy of the viewer. Indeed, images of
aborted foetuses prompt a visceral reaction and thus demand empathy. This
empathy is fundamental to the intersubjective connection created between the foetus
and the viewer, and, in turn, that intersubjectivity demonstrates the moral
significance of the foetus for the pro-life viewer.
The meanings of images of the foetus are built on our parallel understandings of
sight and feeling as immediate and unmediated. Emotion is a powerful element of
politics, and images of the foetus challenge the emotion, and hence the humanity, of
the viewer.

Acknowledgments
My research was made much easier by several pro-life activists who gave me copies
of pamphlets and posters, and spoke to me about their organisations and their views.
My thanks to Marcel White, Sharlie Flannery, and Margaret Tighe of Right to Life
Australia, Maryse Usher at Pregnancy Counselling Australia, Graham Preston from
Right to Life Australia and Protect Life, and Geoff Mongan and Kath Woolf from
the ACT Right to Life Association.
Finally, thank you to my supervisors Norman Abjorensen and Marian Sawer. I am
very glad to have had such excellent intellectual guidance, and I very much
appreciate their patient support and encouragement. Of course, all flaws in this work
are my own responsibility.