The Australian Christian Lobby (ACL) is planning a colourful and peaceful protest about a troubling issue on the parliamentary lawn in Canberra on Wednesday (August 2). Baby booties will be laid out on the lawn in memory of those who died after being born alive following a failed abortion.
The Senate Community Affairs Legislation Committee is set to report on the Born Alive Bill later this month. It seeks to mandate care for such babies. The ACL’s National Director of Politics Wendy Francis told Vision Radio it’s hoping to make an impact with the protest:
“Thousands of baby booties have been sent from around the nation. People have knitted these baby booties with love. They have prayed over these baby booties. So that will be a very, very visible demonstration of the babies’ lives that have been lost. Then following the protest, those booties are going to go to pregnancy support groups right around Australia as well. So every single one of them will go to a precious little baby. But we’re so grateful for the senators who brought this bill forward. It’s a federal bill and it would impact every state.”
Senators Matt Canavan, Alex Antic and Ralph Babet introduced the Human Rights (Children Born Alive Protection) Bill into Federal Parliament to try to ensure that babies who survive late-term abortions are provided life-saving care and pain relief.
Ms. Francis explained: “What they’ve put in their proposed legislation is that every baby will be treated exactly the same in Australia. So a baby that is born alive after an abortion should be given the same treatment as any baby born alive after birth. They have addressed one of the nation’s most horrific examples of systemic abuse of the most vulnerable humans. A significant number of babies survive late-term abortions, but are intentionally denied life-saving care, or even pain relief.”
“We know that in the last ten years it’s happened up to a thousand times in our nation. So we’re talking not a rare occurrence. We’re talking something that happens quite regularly,” she added. Between 2010 and 2020 more than 700 newborns in Queensland and Victoria were left to die after being born alive following an abortion procedure.
Ms. Francis says it is “hard to imagine that any parliamentarian would believe that a viable life should be left to die because they are inconvenient or considered not worth living.”
The original Born Alive bill lapsed after being introduced by Christian former MP George Christensen.
The committee’s report is due at the end of August.
