Tony Abbott has told a conservative political conference in Sydney that with the passage of a bill through the NSW lower house formally legalising abortion and Victoria’s new assisted dying laws we had allowed "death on demand" to become a reality in Australia.

Addressing a crowd of around 500 at the Conservative Political Action Conference - a new Australian offshoot of a powerful American libertarian movement - Mr Abbott said we are embracing “fundamentally inhuman positions” in the country.

“This is morally shocking,” he said. Mr Abbott said the NSW bill, which is yet to pass the upper house and become law, would allow for abortion almost until the point of birth, and it had been “sprung on” the people without proper consultation.

The law as drafted would require two doctors to support any abortion after 22 weeks gestation.