Premier Gladys Berejiklian was forced to delay a vote on it after pressure from conservative MPs, including Finance Minister Damien Tudehope who described the bill as "unjust and illiberal". Anglican Archbishop of Sydney Glenn Davies and the new Primate of the Greek Orthodox Archdiocese of Australia Makarios Griniezakis will urge MPs to consider serious holes in the bill. "This bill allows late-term abortions up to a week before birth, indeed, a day before birth," Dr Davies said. Anglican Archbishop of Sydney Glenn Davies says there are serious holes in the bill. Credit:Kate Geraghty "When people realise that, I can't believe for the life of me that these respected parliamentarians would ever put their name to a bill which would kill an unborn baby the day before birth.

"And I don't think anyone in NSW would think that is a good idea and why they would promote a bill like beggars belief in my view." Archbishop Makarios has written to parishioners saying "we also personally beseech the honourable Members of Parliament to express their opposition to the bill and support vulnerable pregnant mothers by offering other alternatives to abortion". The Presbyterian Church of NSW has also said it is deeply concerned about the bill. But Health Minister Brad Hazzard, one of the co-sponsors of the bill, said the very late termination of a pregnancy would be more unlikely under the proposed legislation than under existing laws. "The likelihood of that occurring is less under the new bill than it is now, because two two doctors would have to consult on a request by a woman for that. At the moment it is only one doctor," Mr Hazzard said.

"The legislation makes it stricter going forward after 22 weeks because it requires two doctors to consider whether or not it is appropriate for the patient. Currently that doesn't apply." Former deputy prime minister Barnaby Joyce weighed into the debate on Thursday, using the example of his infant son to attack the NSW Parliament over the bill. Mr Joyce, who welcomed his second baby with former staffer Vikki Campion in June, said the state MPs were debating whether the child was "subhuman" before his umbilical cord was cut. "The hour of birth is an arbitrary point in modern medicine," the member for New England told the federal Parliament on Thursday. "Tom had rights, even though he was not conscious of them. They should not be removed by a parliament."