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Victoria’s Presbyterian Church has condemned Labor’s promise of free abortions, with Moderator Rev Dr John Wilson urging political leaders to protect unborn children and support mothers.

Victoria’s Presbyterian Church (PCV) has opposed the promise of “free” abortions in the state.

PCV moderator the Reverend Dr John Wilson both attended the 10 November Rally Against Free Abortions and wrote an open letter explaining why.

In the letter, Wilson declared, “Because this is a moral issue of the highest order. Human life is precious. All human life deserves protection. And because the life of an unborn child, sheltered in its mother’s womb, is no less precious than yours or mine.”

Addressed to Labor Premier Ben Carroll and Opposition leader Jess Wilson, John Wilson described abortion as a “staggering moral blind spot!”

🔥 A breakthrough rally in Victoria tonight. THOUSANDS showed up to rally against free abortions proposed by @BenCarrollMP and Jess Wilson. https://t.co/EoA3TBEVWV

— Dr Joanna Howe (@ProfJoannaHowe) November 10, 2026

He added that Australians pride themselves on caring for the vulnerable, protecting the marginalised and defending the defenceless. We champion mental wellbeing in schools, and “insist that every life matters. But what about the smallest, most vulnerable human being of all — the unborn child?”

Wilberforce’s Legacy Inspires a Defence of the Unborn

Drawing up a defence for the unborn from the fight to end slavery, the PCV moderator recalled his family tree and a forebear’s connection to William Wilberforce.

Wilson asked, “How can society be so blind to the humanity of those it refuses to protect?

“What an extraordinary contradiction we live with today! When a baby is born, we celebrate! We send cards! We rejoice! And every year thereafter, we sing, “Happy Birthday!

“But what of the child whose life is ended before birth? No birthday. No celebration. No voice. Not even the opportunity to blow out a first birthday candle.

“What a strange society we’ve become,” he wrote.

“We vaccinate penguins against bird flu. We spend fortunes protecting endangered birds. We’re sickened by images of seal pups being clubbed to death. And rightly so! But where is our compassion for the unborn child — one of our own human family?”

Wilson acknowledged women’s health and advocated for loving both the mother and the child.

Why, he asked, “must concern for women’s health be framed in a way that leaves the life of the unborn child without protection?”

‘Jesus Christ Himself Was Once an Unborn Child’

The moderator said that the church was attending the Howe event “to speak for those who cannot speak for themselves!”

He added that “you don’t have to be a Christian to recognise the moral gravity of deliberately ending unborn human life. But as a Christian Church, we have particular reason to speak.

“Jesus Christ himself was once an unborn child. Remember that remarkable account in Luke’s Gospel? Two pregnant women meet — Mary and Elizabeth. And John the Baptist leaps in his mother’s womb at the presence of the unborn Christ in Mary’s womb! Before either child was born, Scripture speaks of them as persons of significance and dignity.”

Directing his words at the Victorian Premier and Opposition leader, Wilson thundered, “And so, Premier and Opposition Leader, hear our appeal: Protect the vulnerable. Defend the defenceless. Care for mothers. And do not abandon their unborn children.

“Abortion is the deliberate ending of a defenceless human life.

“Abortion is wrong. And we must not be silent.”

When sharing the letter online, Tony Archer, Convenor of the PCV Gospel, Church and Nation Committee, explained that the PCV Moderator had been “invited by Joanna Howe (who spoke at the last VIC GCN Colloquium) to attend tonight’s Rally Against Free Abortion and will be doing so.”

“It is,” he added, “part of the responsibility of the church to be a voice for the voiceless, and John has once again penned an open letter, explaining why he is standing for the protection of the unborn.”

Archer wrote, “This is a powerful letter, and it is encouraging to have a moderator who can respond in such a timely and appropriate way.”

Presbyterian Church Vows to Keep Speaking for the Voiceless

Responding to The Daily Declaration in an email, the Rev Dr John Wilson said that the reasons for being involved in the rally were twofold.

The catalyst was this year’s PCV General Assembly (the Presbyterian Church’s highest governing body) for the whole denomination to speak up and take action, and then, in particular, the expectation on the PCV Moderator to represent the church’s views and desired action in appropriate ways on the issue.

“To have our church ‘counted’,” he said, “in the public square and to be seen representing our church’s view without equivocation, I was in the crowd at both March for the Babies and the pro-life rally, because the PCV thinks that unborn babies need protection and that abortion is abhorrent.”

“On the other hand, it’s personal.”

Asked whether the PCV had any plans for pro-life outreach, he said the church would “continue our long-held (by that I mean decades-long) view that abortion is the violent killing of the unborn and that our civilisation is blind to it.”

As for a theological defence for a pro-life position from the PCV perspective, Wilson pointed to his open letter, saying, “That’s it precisely.”

On the Victorian state election, he told The Daily Declaration, “The church has not expressed its mind on the matter. Our primary focus remains on preaching the Gospel of grace, strengthening the Church, and building up disciples of Christ Jesus.”

This was the Rev Dr’s second letter opposing free abortions. His first open letter on the subject was addressed to the Victorian Premier in mid-October. Wilson opposed Labor’s election promise and challenged the language, stating, “Abortion is not ‘care’, either for the baby or for the mother.”

Those who addressed the Joanna Howe Rally in Melbourne included Canberra Declaration’s Warwick Marsh, Reignite Democracy’s Monica Smit, Moiria Deeming, Dr Melissa Lai, as well as Birdflip representatives Pieta Winkels and Lola Popoola.