Posted on May 2, 2016

The Former Democracy?

Religious freedom and freedom of speech took a savage blow today, as ‘Safe Access zones’ of 150 m from abortion facilities were finally enacted in our state of Victoria. Having learned nothing from the Holocaust, from the tragedy of slavery, or from any dictatorship that disavowed the rights of one specific class of people, our Marxist government has decided not to protect pre-born babies, but instead to protect their killers and to criminalise those who disagree with child-slaughter.

The new laws will be a relief to the highly strung staff who have been feeling very harassed and intimidated by the barrage of (silent) prayer being focussed in their direction. The staff, who are obviously ok with the sight of blood and dismembered babies, feel strangely sheepish when a couple of middle-aged women and men stroll around a one metre diameter section of the footpath. This walking action has been affectionately referred to by abortion facility staff as “stalking”, but is not to be confused with other forms of stalking, such as … actually stalking someone.

Press Release regarding the anti-Helpers law, ludicrously named ‘Safe Access Zone’ Law - Saturday 30th  April, 2016

This law prevents anyone from acting peacefully within the designated area. “It must be the first law of its kind in Victoria to criminalise peaceful activities”, Mrs Tanya O’Brien said. Nowhere in the world has an extreme exclusion zone of 150 metres been imposed. Buffer zones of lesser restrictions have been struck down by the courts in various states of the USA.

Helpers have been praying and offering help outside abortion centres around Victoria for the past 23 years. In particular, Helpers have been present on a daily basis outside the ‘Fertility Control Clinic’ in East Melbourne. During all these years, not one of the Helpers has ever been convicted of an offence. There are laws already to deal with accusations of harassment and intimidation. The Helpers presence is peaceful and therefore a new law has been construed which moves the goal posts, imposing draconian fines and possible jail term for merely being present or offering a pamphlet to those who wish to receive it.

We have been able to assist over 300 pregnant mothers to date. It is incumbent on the Department of Health and Human Services (DHHS) to show the government how it will make up for the shortfall in services to mothers that our absence will create when this exclusion zone is enforced.

The law is clearly unconstitutional. It will inevitably be challenged in the courts and it will inevitably be struck down. It is arrogant for the Victorian Parliament to join with the abortion industry in passing an unconstitutional law to deny pregnant women any knowledge of the type of assistance that is available to them from the Helpers.

This law, which comes into effect from Monday 2 May, will not prevent the Helpers from reaching out to those in need. It is our aim to expand our activities in the future.

Health Minister Jill Hennessy has said that this bill will protect women’s medical privacy and dignity, but what is dignified about mothers feeling that there is no choice but to abort an unplanned baby? And what is dignified about being dragged to the facility by a coercive mother or boyfriend? What is dignified about having a living child sucked from the womb and and then being told that the torment suffered for the rest of your life is imagined, the delusional invention of pro-lifers?

Politicians have overstepped their responsibilities by creating a law that targets peaceful citizens who have no motive for their presence other than to help women and to give a public testimony to the atrocity of abortion.

Women deserve better than abortion and Victorians deserve better than to be governed by a bunch of self-serving anti-Christians.

Just as we hear of the former Yugoslavia, the former USSR and the artist formerly known as Prince, so too, if we continue on this course, we may soon refer to Australia as the nation formerly known as a democracy.