Australia Just Passed a Law Prohibiting People From Praying Outside Abortion Clinics

International   |   Micaiah Bilger   |   Aug 13, 2021   |   11:19AM   |   Canberra, Australia

The whole of Australia now punishes pro-lifers with massive fines and jail time if they peacefully pray or offer information and resources to mothers outside abortion facilities.

ABC (Australia) News reports Western Australia voted Thursday to enact a 150-meter buffer zone banning protests around abortion facilities, joining similar laws throughout the country. Pro-lifers who violate the law could be punished with 12 months in jail and a $12,000 fine.

Abortion activists claim the law is needed to protect women from harassment, but pro-lifers are overwhelmingly peaceful and compassionate. Harassing women would be counterproductive to pro-lifers’ goal of supporting mothers and saving babies’ lives.

Jessica Williams, of Perth, a mother who advocated for the new buffer zone law, believes even peaceful pro-life advocates should be silenced.

“The sight of them causes anxiety. The thought of them being there causes anxiety whether they are peaceful or not,” Williams told ABC News.

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But lawmaker Nick Goiran, one of just three in the West Australian Parliament who voted in opposition to the law, said pro-life Australians deserve rights and considerations. He said pro-lifers who are trying to reach out to mothers “out of genuine concern and compassion … should be supported, too.”

Abortion activists with Marie Stopes Australia, an abortion chain, celebrated the vote this week, but they still are not satisfied. They want more abortions.

“Next, we want to work with the government to increase access to abortion care in Western Australia,” said Marie Stopes managing director Jamal Hakim, according to Student Edge.

Buffer zones violate pro-life advocates’ freedom of speech and hurt mothers and babies. Outside abortion facilities across the world, pro-lifers offer information and resources to help parents choose life for their babies. They provide information and support that abortion facilities often do not, such as facts about fetal development and pregnancy/parenting resources in the community. Many pro-lifers also pray for those victimized by the abortion industry and offer counseling and other help to post-abortive women.

However, buffer zones are a growing problem across the world. The abortion industry knows that pro-life sidewalk counselors help mothers choose life for their unborn babies — thus cutting into their profits. Pro-abortion groups spend huge amounts of money lobbying lawmakers to pass buffer zones, which make it harder for pro-lifers to offer the help that so many mothers are desperately seeking for themselves and their babies.