LIBERAL Senator Cory Bernardi says preserving traditional family values and morality is a task that begins with each individual.
Last week, the politician came under fire after his new book, The Conservative Revolution, was criticised by various media outlets for its pro-life and pro-family views.
But Senator Bernardi remains unfazed by the criticism, speaking openly to The Record about the book and his thoughts on abortion, marriage and the family.
“Of those that have taken the time to read it, the feedback I have received has been that it is about time someone made the case for preserving the institutions that have made our country and our community so great,” he said.
In a review of The Conservative Revolution, editor of News Weekly John Ballantyne says the book is “a welcome corrective to the muddle and malice that pass for political discourse in today’s Australia”.
One of the book’s key chapters is on the importance of faith, where Senator Bernardi defends Judeo-Christian values and the sanctity of human life.
“The most fundamental right of all is the right to life and yet in an age where there are seemingly ‘rights’ for everything, it is also the one most ignored,” Senator Bernardi said.
He added that aspects of the abortion law in Australia should be reconsidered.
“The horror of late-term abortion is discomforting for even pro-abortionists and establishing a gestational date of where to draw the line would be a good start,” he said.
“Similarly, the penalties for doctors refusing to refer abortion services is anathema to personal freedoms and compromises the moral standards of some doctors.”
Although abortion laws around the country have been relaxed in recent times, Senator Bernardi said he hopes the decrease in the number of abortions reported by Medicare indicates a reversal in trend.
But until the wider public accepts that an unborn child is a living being, things won’t change.
“If we want to affirm the rights of the unborn child, we have to ensure they are considered a living being,” Senator Bernardi said.
“Research suggests that unborn children can experience pain and other responses. Even the UN considers the unborn child to have rights. We just need more people to be speaking up for them.”
Senator Bernardi’s book has been criticised for its lamentation of broken families, and his assertion that the traditional family unit – children raised by their biological mother and father – are the best thing for children.
“Of course there are many traditional families who do a terrible job of raising their kids and many non-traditional families who do an amazing job but the statistics tell a powerful story,” he said.
“On every measure, those children raised by their biological parents, who are married and love each other and their children, do better in every health, wealth, educational and emotional demographic. While there are exceptions, to say an absent father or mother has no impact on a child’s development is wishful thinking by the social engineers.”
In preserving family values and morals from the attacks of secularism, Senator Bernardi says each individual has a duty to take a stand.
“Everyone needs to get involved and become advocates for common sense – in their families, their community and even in politics,” he said.
“In a political sense, we can all become more engaged by understanding the platform of our candidates and parties we want to support. True change will begin from the bottom up.”