Brisbane father Graham Preston has been jailed for eight months for peacefully protesting in front of the doors of Brisbane abortion clinics and refusing to move. Graham and his family are well known and highly respected for his unfailing commitment to protect the unborn children of Australia. Graham has just commenced a 232 day sentence in prison for refusing to pay roughly $8000 in fines that have accumulated after ten years of non-violently blocking the entrances of four abortion clinics around Brisbane. He has refused to pay the fines on principle, arguing that trying to save the innocent from harm should not be regarded as criminal behaviour.
Graham wrote on his website: “Going to jail is of course not a desirable thing, either for the person who does so, or for their family who may be very directly negatively affected. Yet our conviction is that this is probably an unavoidable part of seeing the value of all human lives given proper recognition. When anyone pays a very high price for something, it makes everyone ask the question, is it worth it? That is what we want our society to be asking, what are preborn babies worth? We want to say that babies’ lives are worth a person’s, or even many persons’, freedom.”
The Convention on the Rights of the Child (1990), to which Australia is also a signatory, reaffirms in the Preamble the following statement from the earlier Declaration of the Rights of the Child (1959): ” . . . the child, by reason of his physical and mental immaturity, needs special safeguards and care, including appropriate legal protection, both before as well as after birth.”
Unfortunately, despite Australia being a signatory to this document, there are approximately 90 – 100,000 babies aborted in Australia each year.
Martin Luther King Jr. wrote from Birmingham jail, ” . . . there are two types of laws: just and unjust. I would be the first to advocate obeying just laws. One has not only a legal but a moral responsibility to obey just laws. Conversely, one has a moral responsibility to disobey unjust laws.”
For more about this story, read LifeSiteNews story Australian father of seven to spend 8 months in jail for protecting unborn.
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Preston has been jailed for consistently refusing to pay the fines that he has accumulated over a number of years for offences such as trespassing and resisting arrrest – committed while carrying out his “protests”.
What his personal beliefs may be as far as paying fines for breaking the law are irrelevant, the fact is he has breached the law and as a member of the community governed by the laws he is subject to them just as every citizen is.
Legally sanctioned abortion other than for protecting the life of the mother is the most lawless of “laws” there is because it reverses the essential role of law in providing remedy for and protection against harm, loss or injury. It is a “law” that provides for the killing of an innocent human being largely for the convenience of another human being. Mr Preston’s accumulated fines are for mere infringements of public order statutes.
There is a history of heroes who have sacrificed much to bring freedom to oppressed people. They have chosen the path set before them by such great men and women like Bonheoffer, Ghandi, Martin Luther King and Cady Stanton. People who bravely chose to follow the higher law. Remember apartheid? Remember the holocaust? Remember the slave trade? Just because something is “law” doesn’t make it right my friends. We look with admiration at people like Martin Luther King; a man who served time in jail, what Graham is doing is no different. Let me be clear. Graham is involved in NON VIOLENT civil disobedience. His actions are considered and history will testify to this David standing against a Philistine culture that disguises the taking of lives of the innocents in semantics and subterfuge.
History will forget about Preston. Preston is a blip on the radar.
God bless Graham Preston. He is in good company. Jesu’s disciples also went to jail for breaking unjust laws and for disobeying the unjust directions of officials.
Can someone can explain to me how murdering unborn children is not a criminal offense, but peacefully protesting about these murders is a criminal offense.
Peaceful protests deserve jail or fines! What do those who murder the unborn deserve.
It seems an inordinate amount of time to spend in prison for ‘refusing to move’ or pay a fine. Let’s not forget to pray for this brave man and his family as he pays this price for trying to save lives.
What a b rave man & family.
It challenges all of us who believe abortion is not the answer.
Blessings
Ian
What a brave, brave man. To stand up to all those suffering young women and tell them they were going to hell, to make an already traumatic experience more so; truly this is the work of a hero!
Blessed are those who abuse young women, they shall inherit the earth.