“My personal view is that only the practitioners, and not the mother, should be subject to criminal penalties,” Bishop McKenna said when asked his opinion on abolishing abortion laws in NSW.

“Mothers are vulnerable at this time and sometimes subject to pressures from others to act against their own best instincts.”

NSW is the only state in Australia where the termination of pregnancy is punishable with a jail term.

Doctors, however, can carry out an abortion if they believe pregnancy is causing a serious danger to an expecting mother’s physical and mental health.

The pressure is growing on the NSW Government after Queensland MPs voted to decriminalise the termination of pregnancy in their state last week.

NSW Opposition leader Luke Foley said his party would refer the issue to the NSW Law Reform Commission if Labor wins the March state election.

A Bill to decriminalise abortion was voted down in the NSW Parliament last year.

Bishop McKenna said in his opinion, every civilised society should have laws prohibiting the killing of innocent persons.

“It is simply a legal fiction to state that we become human only after we leave our mother’s womb. The rights of unborn children, including those with disabilities, should be protected,” he said.

“The question of abortion is more complicated than other questions of life and death because two lives are involved.

“Women with an unexpected or difficult pregnancy deserve the support and help of their community: and practical alternatives to the deceptively simple solution of termination.”

Member for Orange Philip Donato didn’t respond to a request for comment on the issue.