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Up to 10,000 reportedly attended Sydney’s rally in support of the NSW Libertarian bill aimed at banning sex-selective abortions.

Pro-life champion Dr Joanna Howe, whose team organised the 15 September gathering with the help of NSW Life’s Rayne Orange, said on X that the event was the “biggest rally yet.”

The next day, John Ruddick MLC’s 2025 bill to ban Sex-Selective Abortions was defeated by the Legislative Council 21–16.

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We just lost the sex-selective abortion ban 21–16.

Two conservative votes were absent. With them it would have been 21–18.

That means at the 2027 NSW election, if we replace just two left-wing MLCs with two who will vote to protect girls, we can end the practice of aborting… pic.twitter.com/zJ2dXANP5a

— John Ruddick MLC – Libertarian (@JohnRuddick2) September 16, 2026

How MPs Voted on Ruddick’s Bill

Greens MLC Amanda Cohn (who supports abortion without limits) and two Nationals were among those who squashed it.

Notably, a Liberal Party majority alongside Mark Latham, two Nats and three Labor MLCs, voted in support of Ruddick’s bill.

Labor largely voted against it.

The Greens, who’ve repeatedly tried to make opposition to sex-selective abortions about “racism and xenophobia”, unsurprisingly all goose-stepped in unison with Cohn.

Commenting on the bill’s demise, Howe shared,

“We tried everything in this campaign and worked tirelessly to open the eyes of the 4 Nationals politicians whose votes we needed to pass this bill.”

“It is very upsetting that 2 of the 4, Sarah Mitchell, who is the top of the Nationals tickets next March, and Scott Barrett, voted against protecting baby girls in the womb from gender-based annihilation.”

Appearing to be as buoyed by the result as she was disappointed, Howe energetically added,

“I’ve learned through this fight that some politicians have hearts of stone and will not be turned by reason, evidence or grassroots community mobilisation.”

“This means we must vote out every pro-abortion politician and party next March in the NSW election.”

Moving forward, she indicated that the bill’s defeat only makes the motivation to end abortion stronger.

That means replacing the Nationals with One Nation.

Howe put the Nats on notice, stating, “My team and I will move into the next phase of our NSW efforts.”

As such, her team, Howe declared, will be “working towards obliterating the Nats in NSW and replacing them with One Nation (who has a policy against late-term abortion and sex-selective abortion) in EVERY SINGLE LOWER HOUSE SEAT.”

Declaring war on the Nationals follows repeated attempts by Howe to reach the party, which included a regional NSW campaign, and blunt appeals such as this one:

Tonight’s vote in the upper house on John Ruddick’s bill is make or break for the Nats. This could be the end of them. pic.twitter.com/ltAnEZq5bg

— Dr Joanna Howe (@ProfJoannaHowe) September 16, 2026

Ruddick Answers Ridiculous Racism Accusation

In commending the bill to the House, John Ruddick slammed critics such as Labor’s Anthony D’Adam, who called the proposed baby-saving legislation “racist.”

Recounting the “that’s racist” theme, Ruddick cited D’Adam’s 24 June remarks, where he falsely claimed that the purpose of the bill was “to unite anti-abortion forces with xenophobes and racists”.

D’Adam also implied that the bill incited “hate speech,” arguing that it “[was] based on racist assumptions” and that it “feeds xenophobic and anti‑immigrant sentiment.”

Labor’s Anthony D’Adams gets a special mention for his stupid “that’s racissssssmm” remarks in June about this baby saving bill.

Moronic “that’s racism” so “turn the womb into a tomb” opportunists like @AnthonyDAdamMLC deserve to lose their seats in March next year.

As per the… https://t.co/VQnAYQproC

— Rod Lampard (@rod_lampard) September 17, 2026

Correcting the falsehood, Ruddick remarked,

“Golly, that sounds terrible.

“Just so we are clear, am I a racist because I want to protect baby girls in the womb?

“I do not want to kill them; I want to save their lives. Does that make me a racist?”

Ruddick then said,

“Why are members making this absurd, ludicrous argument?

“It is because they do not have any other good arguments.

“The cupboard is bare, so they have reached down to the bottom drawer and brought out their favourite card: racism. It is all they have.”

Answering opponents who downplayed the seriousness of the bill by claiming there were only “3 cases of sex-selective abortion,” Ruddick said, “it was an absolute lie,” estimating that “it’s probably closer to 3,000.”

“People promoting that number know it is a lie.”

“They’re not interested in the truth,” he added.

“But let’s say it is right that we are killing only three girls a year. If we pass this law, then they will not be killed. Let’s pass the law. It does not cost anything.

“We already have the guidelines in place. It is not like we have to spend $10 million a year to enforce it. Let’s just pass the law and prevent it [from] happening.”

Exposing Evil, Offering Grace

For those who would argue that Howe and Ruddick’s petitioning is in violation of biblical morality, I would answer: God’s grace is disruptive.

God sets the example when opposing sin as much as he makes himself the remedy for it in Jesus the Christ.

Luther’s two kingdoms doctrine also applies: Ruddick is the state wielding the sword. Howe is the lay church wielding the gospel.

Christian forgiveness also requires that an opponent is clear on the grievance and has room for repentance, then restoration.

Forgiveness doesn’t mean reconciling with the unfruitful works of darkness, turning a blind eye or handing back to an abuser the weapon because they promise not to use it.

Additionally, love and charity are expressed in Howe’s repeated attempts to dialogue with the Nats.

That included politely applying pressure through the NSW Life regional awareness campaign.

The one I attended also included Oxley Nats MP, Michael Kemp.

So, has Howe applied a biblical approach here? I’d argue yes and point to Micah 6:8 and Ephesians 5:1–20.

As the late Dallas Willard once wrote, “Grace is opposed to earning, not effort.”

Rally a Victory Despite Bill’s Defeat

It’s unlikely the bill’s close defeat will downgrade the movement’s determination to abolish abortion.

Despite the setback, there has been slight progress, such as the Minns government responding to pressure to slash parts of the Greens’ 2025 forcing-midwives-to-be-abortionists-too bill.

Also, the narrow outcome of Ruddick’s proposed common-sense legislation shows promise.

Some people who attended the massive Howe and Ruddick pro-life rally told The Daily Declaration it was electric.

They also said no major news outlet appeared to be covering the event.

There were prayer, song and speeches, with NSW 2027 Libertarian lead candidate Gemma Noiosi walking the reportedly 10,000-strong crowd to “Amazing Grace”.

To quote Howe when thanking those who attended,

“This is not the end. It is the beginning.

“This was our first attempt to pass a pro-life bill in NSW as a movement, and we go onwards and upwards from here.”

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Image via Instagram/Joanna Howe and Instagram/Elspeth McKellar.