The NSW abortion debate has been a jarring experience.
There have been some wonderful moments, with MPs championing the most vulnerable in our community: unborn children in the womb.
There have also been some terrible moments, with comments that shocked in their callousness.
Sadly, it's not surprising that the NSW lower house has seen fit to pass the abortion liberalisation bill late at night – 59 votes for to 31 against – under the guise of “decriminalisation”.
Despite the best efforts of supporters – and the efforts of valiant pro-life MPs – the majority of NSW MPs disregarded concern over atrocious aspects like late-term abortion and rushed the bill through.
Around metro and regional NSW, some 5275 AFC supporters sent, over a period of 10 days, a combined total of 263,346 emails to their local state MP and MLCs.
In addition to this, countless phone calls have been made, support given to the rally outside Parliament House in Sydney, and more. And this on top of the efforts of many other organisations and churches who have also been campaigning hard against the bill.
So why are MPs’ hearts so hardened – not only to the plight of the unborn, but also to the clear voice of their constituents?
It’s far from the only reason, but one thing strikes us. Too often, we leave debates until “minutes to midnight”, surprised that the commanding heights have been taken and our views are effectively locked out.
It has certainly been so in the abortion debate, where the cry for “reproductive rights” has seen pro-lifers essentially declared “anti-women”. It has also meant that attempts to get meaningful amendments, trying to lessen the impact of this awful bill, were shot down in flames.
Having said that, while the bill was rushed through the lower house, we now have a narrow window of opportunity. Indeed, we have an obligation to act. We have a few weeks until the upper house considers this bill – and that’s why we must maintain our efforts.
Some petitions are of questionable effect, but a similar petition made a HUGE impact in 2017 when this issue was last debated – and we’re convinced that joining forces with our friends from other organisations is the best chance we have of stopping this terrible legislation.
We owe it to the unborn children of today and tomorrow to make the effort.
NSW RESIDENTS ONLY: please CLICK HERE to download and print off the petition.
This new petition is hard copy as it will be tabled in the NSW Parliament. We need your help to send it far and wide, gaining as many signatures as possible in the short time available. Further instructions are available on the petition cover page.
You can email it to your friends, circulate it at church this weekend and next – the opportunities are many.
For those in other states and territories, please make every effort to share the petition with your NSW friends. We only have until Tuesday, 20 August, so we need every bit of help we can get!
Here’s the link to the petition again, by CLICKING HERE.
With your help, we won’t rest until every effort has been made to stop this terrible bill.