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SA abortion bill passes LH

In the early hours of this morning (Friday 19th February) a majority of lower house MPs approved the abortion bill, in a very sad day for South Australia.

Voting 29 for the proposed law, and 15 against, the House of Assembly endorsed abortion up to 22 weeks and six days on demand, and under certain conditions beyond that point. The bill must now be considered by the upper house, which is likely to approve all the provisions in the bill.

While pro-life MPs were able to diminish some aspects of the emerging legislation, little comfort may be taken by those amendments. In particular, the specified conditions for late term abortion are the same as those currently flouted by the abortion providers in relation to early termination.

As we reflect upon this appalling result, it must be confessed that the bill has passed under our watch as the people of God. Clearly the influence of the Christian community as light and salt requires deep soul-searching.

Despite the stirling efforts of various pro-life groups, it must be admitted that Parliament has largely lost its way - but so have many of the churches.

Although FamilyVoice personally contacted about 250 pastors who are known to be conservative, only about 20 agreed to sign our open letter to MPs calling for a rejection of the termination of pregnancy bill. Shockingly, a number of Christian pastors in fact endorsed the proposed legislation.

Churches and most denominations were stunningly silent on this matter, leaving the heavy loading to the pro-family and pro-life organisations.

Nevertheless, we give thanks for faithful supporters who prayed and took action. We give thanks for generous donations that funded our engagement in social media, as we alerted supporters and facilitated pro-life action.

We give thanks for the pro-life medical practitioner who agreed to receive a grant from FamilyVoice (funded by a generous donor) to purchase copies of the powerful “Unplanned DVD” that especially highlights the horror of chemical abortion whereby women deliver their own deceased offspring, often in the family bathroom, and must dispose of little one. The doctor provided a copy to each lower house MP at the end of last year.

We are grateful to the donor who funded our quarter page advert in the Sunday Mail, along with full-page full colour ads in two rural newspapers, helping raise awareness and prompt action.

Resisting politically correct pressure, Life FM, Radio 5EBI and nationally broadcaster Faith FM gladly aired our concerns. We are grateful for their support in the fight.

We give thanks for a very brave young supporter, Ms B. Edwards, who had a surgical abortion and a chemical abortion in the years before she came to Christ as Saviour and Lord. Ms Edwards graciously agreed to put her testimony in writing in a letter we helped her send to all State lower house MPs, on the cusp of the debate.

In total, our abortion campaign consisted of a large number of emails, that supporters sent to MPs using our ‘OneClick’ system and Facebook ads which reached over 20,000 South Australians.

Interestingly, our supporters found mixed results when visiting or writing to MPs, which may provide a clue for future battles (eg concerning euthanasia, that is looming as the next challenge).

When one of our supporters visited a pro-abortion MP, the supporter found himself listening to a tirade of negative expression and could hardly get in a word edgeways. However, that supporter is to be commended for at least providing the MP with an opportunity to express herself as a basis for ongoing dialogue.

Only as more good people participate in the political process, through dialogue with MPs, and by joining and reforming the parties, can we expect to reverse the trend towards reckless social policy.

And as the battle for hearts and minds is won or lost not so much in Parliament, but in primary school, our vigorous encouragement to educate the young continues unabated.

While that approach to reform may take many years to bring fruit, we are ready now to tackle the next challenges as they arise.

But whether we win or lose, our prayer, alongside supporters like you, is to be faithful to the one who has already won victory for us all.

David d'Lima - SA State Director

FamilyVoice Australia

How SA MPs voted on the abortion bill

pregnant

Pro-abortion MP Nat Cook sounded like she was against abortion, when arguing with her pro-life ALP colleague Tom Koutsantonis MP in the South Australian Parliament today.

Mr Koutsantonis had urged his colleagues to consider how best to respond when a baby might survive the termination procedure.

This brought a sharp response from Ms Cook, a former registered nurse, who described in graphic detail the misery which resuscitation may involve, and said such measures ought not to apply.

“Ms Cook spoke with considerable expertise about the horrendous nature of heroic measures when medical people battle to resuscitate a baby, including the use of a myriad of needles, brain drainage and punctured lungs,” said FamilyVoice spokesman David d’Lima.

“Tragically, it sounded like a superb argument against surgical abortion,” he said.

“Unfortunately, the brutality of abortion is largely absent in this debate that is more concerned with definitions and semantics - including insisting the bill refer to pregnant persons, not pregnant women, lest offence be given to those not wishing to be identified as female.

“Using average statistics, more unborn South Australians have died during this awful debate this week than there are MPs arguing about their fate.”

radio

FamilyVoice's Greg Bondar speaks with Vision Christian Radio about woke bans on Shakespeare and asks: Will the Bible be "Cancel Culture's" next target? Listen now.

pregnant

A number of amendments have been proposed to the radical abortion bill which continues to be debated in SA Parliament.

An amendment to restrict the extreme abortion to birth provision in a South Australian abortion bill has been defeated.

The amendment, put forward by David Speirs MP, was defeated 26-20 (vote breakdown below).

But a watered-down version pushed by pro-abortion Attorney-General Vickie Chapman, proponent of the Termination of Pregnancy Bill, has passed.

The broad nature of the exemption wording in Chapman’s amendment – if the continuance of pregnancy poses a  “significant risk of injury to physical or mental health”, means that it may make no difference whatsoever to babies being aborted up until birth.

The Advertiser reported:

Under the original Bill, the only provision needed for a late-term abortion was for two health practitioners to deem it “medically appropriate”.

Under Ms Chapman’s amendments, a late-term abortion could be performed only if two medical practitioners deem the termination “is necessary to save the life of the pregnant person or save another foetus” or if the continuance of pregnancy poses a “significant risk of injury to physical or mental health”.

A late-term abortion could also be performed if there were “serious foetal anomalies”, or risk of them, associated with the pregnancy.

Her amendment to late-term abortion provisions eventually received the support of the House of Assembly on Wednesday night, following exhaustive debate on what is considered an “injury to mental health”.

Meanwhile, federal Liberal MP Nicolle Flint has criticised state Liberal MP Michelle Lensink, who introduced the abortion bill last year, of being patronising.

Michelle Lensink lectured MPs on Twitter, saying: “No one is interested in your carefully curated arguments, or your capacity to audition for your local debating team.”.

In response, Nicolle Flint responded on Twitter:

“I have dedicated my time in federal parliament to trying to SAVE the lives of unborn babies. How dare you be so patronising to those who wish to do the same.”

Debate on the abortion bill will continue today.

How MPs voted on David Speirs' amendment to provide greater protection for unborn children from late term abortions

Ayes 20

Noes 26

Majority 6

In favour of greater protection for the unborn around late term abortion
Bell, T.S. Brock, G.G. Brown, M.E. Cowdrey, M.J. Cregan, D. Duluk, S. Ellis, F.J. Knoll, S.K. Koutsantonis, A. Malinauskas, P. Michaels, A. Mullighan, S.C. Murray, S. Patterson, S.J.R. Pederick, A.S. Piccolo, A. Power, C. Speirs, D.J.Tarzia, V.A. van Holst Pellekaan, D.C.

Against greater protection for the unborn around late term abortion
Basham, D.K.B. Bedford, F.E. Bettison, Z.L. Bignell, L.W.K. Boyer, B.I. Chapman, V.A. Close, S.E. Cook, N.F. Gardner, J.A.W. Gee, J.P. Harvey, R.M. Hildyard, K.A. Hughes, E.J. Luethen, P. Marshall, S.S. McBride, N. Odenwalder, L.K. Picton, C.J. Pisoni, D.G. Sanderson, R. Stinson, J.M. Szakacs, J.K. Teague, J.B. Whetstone, T.J. Wingard, C.L. Wortley, D.

 

sad woman

FamilyVoice Australia supporter Ms B. Edwards has spoken openly and movingly about her deep regret, after two abortions, in the years before she became a Christian.

In the following letter to the editor of The Advertiser, Ms Edwards responded to a column by journalist Paul Starick. Ms Edwards urges MPs to reject abortion legislation. Her letter (predictably ignored) gave her testimony as follows:

Paul Starick’s article in ‘The Advertiser’ (13 February) quotes legal experts who say abortion reform is “evidenced-based”.

Well I would like to share my evidence, having suffered greatly by a surgical and a chemical abortion.

At the age of 17, I listened to experts telling me abortion was a simple, common procedure and I would be just fine. I tried to counsel myself into this line of thinking before and after my abortion, but torment would spring up in my mind. I started doing drugs 6 months later.

My second abortion was through a chemical tablet. Soon after taking it, I had intense cramps lasting three hours. I passed my dead child into my toilet, through immense pain and mental anguish. The images of that day have never left me.

I do not think the legal experts or MPs understand the terrible harm done by abortion to women, especially through chemicals that turn the bathroom into a place of trauma.