Life
The South Australian parliament is currently considering the Greens’ radical Abortion Law Reform Bill, which removes the need for doctors to be involved in abortions and allows abortion up to and including birth.
This is a dangerous bill. It is dangerous for pre-born children, for vulnerable women and for the sanctity of life. So it was encouraging to see over 200 church and community leaders and others gather on Monday 4 February to hear great presentations on the problems with the bill.
As part of ACL’s Beautiful Life campaign against the Bill, I outlined the present law before lawyer Chelsea Pietsch explained and exposed the problems with the Greens’ Bill. Dr Elvis Seman quietly but forcefully showed the fatal flaws in the Bill from a medical point of view. The evening was ably chaired by a leading expert in the field of pregnancy issues in South Australia.
All 5000 of the postcard petitions went out and we are now awaiting their return. If you see any of these petitions in your church or community, please be sure to sign them.
It is also very encouraging to see many young people take initiative and of their own volition write and visit MPs. A delegation of five or six young people met with one of the key upper house members in this debate whose vote will be vital. The involvement of articulate young people is one of the great benefits of this campaign.
We must keep going.
Tammy Franks will finish her remarks on 27 February and then the matter will be scheduled for debate at a later date. Each upper house MP must be spoken to and you are encouraged to use the information and resources provided.
Hope
The Franklin Graham tour event will be in Adelaide on 20 February. About 400 prayer volunteers gathered on Saturday 9 February to pray for the event at the stadium. In Perth, that same night, Franklin Graham as part of his gospel address, spoke clearly, pastorally and sensitively about abortion. We need to support this event both for the bringing of the gospel of hope to South Australia and the chance to hear clear public expression about the truth regarding abortion.
Freedom
On Tuesday 5 February, I was part of a small delegation which spoke to Senator Rex Patrick about the problems with the proposed amendments to the Federal Sex Discrimination Act which will make teaching truth in relation to sexuality and gender in schools, Bible colleges and churches against the law.
Later that week I attended the Senate Inquiry into the matter with John Steenhof (new Managing Director of the Human Rights Law Alliance) on behalf of ACL. We explained the problems in the proposed amendments and the actual cases in which we have been involved, defending the right to express and practice Christian truth in these areas.
It is critical that we pray earnestly for Senators Rex Patrick and Stirling Griff that they understand the complexity of the issue and vote against the proposed amendments. If the amendments go through, just over a year after same-sex marriage became law, proclamation and expression of Biblical truth in relation to sexuality and gender will be severely restricted. We are hurtling down the slippery slope.
