This years Rally for Life at the WA Parliament drew a crowd of close to 2000 people, much the same as last year. The Rally marked the 25th Anniversary of the passing of WA’s abortion laws in 1998, which has seen some 200,000 unborn children not getting to see the light of day on account of state sanctioned abortion.
This year’s Rally focused on the discrimination faced by unborn children with Down Syndrome. Last year 76 late term abortions were approved in WA, and of those, 71 were approved on account of the parents receiving a diagnosis of suspected Down Syndrome.
Two mothers, supported by their husbands, shared their stories of having a child with Down Syndrome, including the pressure they faced to abort their babies. Yet each of their children are much loved and enjoying their lives.
One of the mothers has initiated a parliamentary e-petition calling on the McGowan government to amend the abortion legislation to end this discrimination against unborn babies with Down Syndrome. If you are a WA resident and have not yet signed the petition, you can sign it here.
Some 250 of the attendees gathered in the Supreme Court Gardens an hour before the Rally and formed a procession walking up to the Rally at Parliament House.
The Hon Nick Goiran MLC (Lib)also addressed the meeting focusing on the evil of late term abortions. The Hon Kate Doust MLC and Margaret Quirk MLA also attended part of the proceedings.
A noisy counter demonstration of some 50 people used loud hailers and a portable PA system to try and disrupt the Rally. It was a great display of bigotry on their part, as they clearly were not willing to give anyone the right to express a different view to their own. The WA Police had a strong presence and kept the counter protest a short distance from our event.
One of our Volunteer Leaders wrote: In spite of the presence of a small group of very loud protestors, I left the evening full of hope. This was mainly due to the enthusiasm and the sheer number of people who were there, especially the young people there to spread love and truth.
Some of our volunteer leaders took the opportunity to meet the CEO-elect, Michelle Pearse, who showed her commitment to the pro life cause by addressing the Rally, even though she had only landed in Perth from London with her family the day before!
