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I recently had the privilege of attending the inaugural National Life Summit, hosted by Australian academic and pro-life advocate Dr Joanna Howe, and platforming speakers such as Rachel Wong from Women’s Forum Australia, Robbie Katter MP, Hon Nick Goiran MLC, and many more.

The event was designed to grant an opportunity for budding “young leaders” to network and hone their efforts in the battle against the societal scourge of abortion. It provided a chance to pause and consider the nature of the conflict in which we find ourselves.

Pro-lifers face an uphill battle in Australia. One in four women in Australia has had an abortion. Culturally speaking, abortion is entrenched as socially acceptable and socially normative.

As pro-lifers, our position could not possibly be stronger. Our only plea – spare the babies. Don’t kill infants in the womb. Please.

This plaintive request to save the babies is the most basic of requests. Since the dawn of time, the human right to life has always and everywhere topped the list of man’s priorities. It has never been toppled. Why? Because the right to life is the most basic of human rights.

Obligation to Oppose

So why do we struggle to assert this simplest, this most elementary of needs on behalf of those whose voices are muted and cut tragically short?

One reason is that we are not always honest and courageous with ourselves and others. Confronting abortion is considered inflammatory and worthy of self-censor – hints of such an attitude will quickly see one “cancelled” in today’s climate.

Throughout the Summit, it struck me as morally binding on everyone who believes abortion is murder to ensure that his life reflects that belief in some tangible way.

Each of us must grapple with this issue – if we truly believe that young children are murdered on a genocidal scale in our country each year, then are we not hypocrites if we remain silent? Will not the very stones cry out if we do not? Not all that is evil is attributable to demonic forces. It is also in part, the fault of those who fail to do their duty by resisting it. Put differently: “The only thing necessary for evil to triumph is for good men to do nothing.”

Five Practical Steps

So, if there is a moral obligation for us to oppose abortion in more than word and thought, what deeds might satisfy this obligation? I would like to propose five simple steps we can take to socially and politically advance the cause of ending abortion in our nation.

The first step is to talk to your local member of parliament. Many people do not realise that it is possible to contact their MP for a one-on-one meeting. Connecting with your local MP enables you to develop a relationship and become a stakeholder in locally driven political processes and their results. It is not enough to practice our democratic right just once every election cycle. It is not enough to represent the cause for life with thumbnails on social media. We must be real flesh-and-blood persons to our politicians. There is no better way than by showing up on their doorstep.

The second step is to discuss with the people around us what is happening in our country. We cannot afford to be silent about abortion. When you care about something, no-one can stop you talking about it. Again, generating an awareness of what abortion is and what it does to people, is absolutely crucial. Many do not even know that abortion is available up to birth in much of Australia. They do not understand the barbarity with which the baby is extracted from the womb and discarded. We must tell them about these things.

The third step is to weaponise social media in order to extend the reach of steps one and two. Elon Musk called X the global town square – a place of discourse, a place where ideas are shared. Use social media to spread awareness and demonstrate to those who are isolated that they are not alone. There are communities of persons who do not merely accept the status quo. Social media can help connect the disenfranchised. If you feel called to do so, publish opinion pieces.

The fourth suggestion I will make is to witness at the site of abortion clinics. Of course, since the 2018 “bubble zone” legislation, it is illegal in New South Wales to stand within 150 metres of an abortion mill’s doors. Notwithstanding, we should exercise the democratic right to protest by standing a legal distance from abortion clinics in order to voice our disapproval and witness to the truth that abortion is murder. As a Christian, I attend prayerful rallies that serve the double purpose of invoking spiritual aid upon the staff and patrons of the abortion industry, whilst praying for its end; and simultaneously offering a public testament to the truth. Prayer rallies are apolitical, demonstrating a deep care and love for both babies and Mums. When a rally is accompanied by prayer, no-one can reasonably doubt that the attendees have the very best of intentions at heart.

This leads me to my fifth and final step: prayer. Pray in private, pray in public. Witness in your church to the significance of a human life, the worth of a soul made in God’s image and endowed with reason and the capacity to love and be loved. Pray in your home, leading your families in prayer against the pre-eminent moral affliction of our time. Pray always.

Only One Solution – Be Saints

I have listed some practical steps we can take to reinvigorate the abortion debate in our country. This is particularly critical as we approach the 2025 Australian Federal Election. Politically, we need abortion to be a top-of-mind issue, vying for first place in our lawmakers’ minds alongside the likes of immigration and the economy. As in the United States, we need to demonstrate that we care about abortion. Nothing could be more important for the future of the nation of Australia.

However, it is frequently recited that politics is downstream of culture. In the States, abortion laws have been recently and rightly reformed – but this has not automatically converted the hearts of those who believe that killing our offspring ought to be a constitutionally enshrined right.

At the end of the day, the cause of life only wins if hearts of stone become hearts of flesh. We need to be strong persons of conviction, unafraid to speak the truth in season and out of season. We must elect our politicians based on their respect for the dignity of the human person, and must loudly and insistently hold them to account if and when they betray this democratic trust we have invested in them. Do not let them off the hook. Ever.

Speak of the beauty of relationships, of marriage, of sex, and of the babies these produce. Be idealistic in proclaiming the inherent goodness of these things. This is the only way we can ultimately redeem and sanctify our society.

As Catherine of Siena said: “Be who God meant you to be, and you will set the world on fire.”

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Image courtesy of Adobe.