A doctor who made stunning claims about gender-based abortion on the front pages of News Limited’s Sunday tabloids has been outed as a former Democratic Labor Party candidate who believes all abortions are “murder”.

On Sunday, News Ltd papers in Melbourne, Sydney and Adelaide splashed with Dr Mark Hobart’s claims that a Melbourne couple had asked for a referral to an abortion clinic because they wanted a boy rather than a girl. It was a timely intervention — a Senate committee is inquiring into draft legislation by DLP Senator John Madigan that would ban Medicare funding for s-x-selective abortion.

What readers weren’t told is that Hobart — described only as a “Melbourne doctor” — ran as a candidate for the DLP in the 2011 byelection for the state seat of Broadmeadows. Or that, as he told a 2011 parliamentary inquiry, he does not make any referrals for abortion because he believes this would make him an an “accomplice to murder”. On April 20, Hobart spoke at a dinner for the pro-life Endeavour Forum on the importance of “upholding the right to conscientious objection” to abortion.

Crikey understands Natasha Bita, the journalist who wrote the story, didn’t ask about Hobart’s political affiliation or views on abortion before publication and he didn’t disclose them to her. A spokesman for Madigan says the Senator directed Bita to Hobart when asked for examples of doctors who have been approached by women wanting a gender-based abortion.

Bita told Crikey: “I wasn’t aware of the doctor’s DLP membership or candidacy at the time I filed the article, as I would have included this in the print editions. As soon as I was made aware, I added it to the online copy.”

Leslie Cannold, the president of Reproductive Choice Australia, says she easily discovered Hobart’s strong pro-life stance by Googling his name after reading the Sunday Herald Sun. “We hope this serves as a salutary lesson that when people approach you with stories you need to check not just what they say but who they are,” she said. “It is a very common tactic of activists these days to mislead and deceive the media about who they are.”

Cannold says journalists should be especially alert about any potential conflicts of interest when politicians or special interest groups have helped find sources for their stories.

But Cannold praises the Herald Sun and other News Limited papers for acting quickly to amend their online stories when informed about the lack of disclosure.

Hobart’s DLP membership and pro-life views do not mean his claims about being approached about gender-based abortions are inaccurate — and Crikey has no evidence to suggest they are. But News Limited insiders say the story would not have been run so prominently had the doctor’s background been known.

In February, former Australian Medical Association president Andrew Pesce, an obstetrician and gynecologist, told Crikey he believes gender-based abortions are extremely rare in Australia.

There is no restriction on abortion in Victoria before 24 weeks. The woman refused a referral for abortion by Hobart was apparently 19 weeks pregnant.