Thousands of South Australians rallied in Adelaide on Saturday to protest proposed changes to the state’s abortion laws.
About 5,000 people took part in the Walk for Life rally, hosted by the pro-life group Love Adelaide, to oppose the extreme legislation that would allow abortion up until birth.
The Termination of Pregnancy Bill 2020, which seeks to reform the law relating to abortion and decriminalise the killings up until 40 weeks, has already passed the Upper House and is expected to be debated in Parliament in a couple of weeks.
According to Love Adelaide, the proposed legislation will not only allow abortions up to birth, but also sex-selective abortions, which disproportionately targets females in the womb. The group has also warned the changes will mean infants born alive during an abortion procedure will be left to die.
Saturday’s protesters peacefully marched from Pennington Gardens to Parliament House, weathering the rain and holding signs that read: “Abortion up to birth! Not in SA,” “Pro-Life, Pro-Woman, Pro-Child,” and “Choose Life.”
Jodie Pickard, founding director of Love Adelaide said the bill is decriminalising violence against the most vulnerable children.
“It’s critical that South Australians understand the radical nature of the changes being proposed by the government and the effect that these changes will have,” she said.
“Late-term abortion – up to birth – is a violent act against the most vulnerable children. Sex-selective abortion is a violent act against mostly females. We can’t allow this to pass.”
Current laws in South Australia allow for abortion up until 28 weeks.
