A Victorian Liberal MP has lashed "disloyal" colleagues following his resignation as the opposition's upper house whip just days after making controversial anti-abortion comments.
Bernie Finn came under fire last week after posting on Facebook he was "praying" for abortion to be banned in Victoria as it emerged the US Supreme Court could overturn its landmark Roe v Wade decision.
In a follow-up comment, he told a user he did not support abortion even in cases where a woman is sexually assaulted.
It prompted Opposition Leader Matthew Guy to declare he and his colleagues were "sick" of Mr Finn's social media activity and urged him to consider whether he wished to remain a parliamentary Liberal Party member.
Brighton MP and Liberal frontbencher James Newbury joined the pile-on, describing Mr Finn's position as "deeply disturbing and dangerous".
Mr Finn wrote to colleagues on Monday to notify them he resigned as opposition whip in the Legislative Council, with Gordon Rich-Phillips elected as his replacement after a partyroom meeting on Tuesday morning.
A whip's job is to ensure fellow party members are present for votes and seated on the correct side of the house.
Post-meeting, Mr Finn declared he did not feel abandoned by the party but "there was a degree of disloyalty involved".
The upper house MP has not spoken to Mr Guy in months and doubled down on his belief rape victims should not be allowed to have an abortion.
"It's a question of deciding who should live or die and I think everybody should be given their chance," he told reporters at parliament.
Mr Finn doesn't believe his views will drag the Liberals' vote at the November state election and wants to remain in the party ahead of facing preselection in coming months.
He has repeatedly stoked online controversy, calling the state's police force a "despot's militia", describing Premier Daniel Andrews in an indecent position with a goat and posting a meme about a Chinese rocket falling on the ABC or his political rivals.
Mr Guy declined to say whether there would be repercussions if Mr Finn continued to make controversial comments online.
"That's a matter for the party," he said.
Upper house crossbencher Fiona Patten said women are getting "very tired of this rhetoric coming out of the wannabe (US) Republicans like Bernie Finn", while Greens Leader Samantha Ratnam said the Liberals were facing questions about their identity.
"How many more tests does he need to fail for the Liberal Party to take strong action?" she said.
