South Australian Prolifers at the Coalface

Alan Tyson - 40 days for Life South Australia

In December 2018 Greens MLC Ms Tammy Franks (Upper House) introduced an Abortion Law Reform Bill to decriminalise abortion and provide the most unregulated abortion regime in the country. It provides for unrestricted and de-regulated availability of abortion up to full term, allows abortions to be carried out by other than doctors or without referral to any doctor, allows babies born alive to die without medical support and introduces 150 m Exclusion Zones around any hospital, abortion facility or any other premises declared by the Minister.

The Bill was too extreme even for many pro-abort politicians. On 26 February 2019 Attorney General Vickie Chapman intervened and referred the Bill to the South Australian Law Reform Institute (SALRI), an outgrowth of the University of Adelaide Law School. SALRI conducted public consultation and received over 3,000 submissions. After an extension of time, the SALRI Report was lodged with Attorney General Vickie Chapman about 1 November 2019.

In September 2019 Ms Franks tabled a separate Bill encompassing only the 150 m exclusion zones component, arguing it is a simple Bill that can be agreed before the main Abortion debate. As discussed in the RTL email earlier this month, in the Upper House the Bill progressed to the Committee stage by a vote of 12 to 5 and will be debated on Wednesday 13th November. Ms Chapman expects to report on the SALRI recommendations in early December 2019, followed by a Bill in parliament “in the new year”.

If exclusion zones are introduced, it will not be possible for prayer volunteers to offer any form of pro-life counselling to the pregnant woman. Exclusion zones will make it even easier for abortion coercion to occur - and of course, exclusion zones deny people the right to free speech and freedom of religion. Ms Franks is particularly targeting 40 Days for Life, which has just concluded its twice-yearly campaign outside Adelaide’s only stand-alone abortion clinic, aka “Pregnancy Advisory Clinic”, Woodville (see prayer volunteers pictured behind council-mandated bollards).

We urge all our supporters to contact the Upper House members immediately to voice their objections against the Exclusion Zones Bill (enclosed list). Concerted action, prayer and fasting will be required to defeat Ms Franks’ draconian Bills. If possible, support the group praying against these Bills on the steps of Parliament House, Adelaide every Wednesday from 12 noon to 2 pm.

Image:  Helen and Alan Tyson 40 days for Life SA