Archbishop Glenn Davies has warned of the dangers of the Bill which allows abortion up until birth, urging Christians show support for the life of the unborn before the Upper House considers the Bill.
The Archbishop has written to all clergy in the Diocese of Sydney, saying he considers the Bill before the Legislative Council, “misleadingly entitled the Reproductive Health Reform Bill 2019, will in its current form do great damage to our society in the legalisation of the death of innocent lives in the womb.”
Dr Davies said that while “there is merit in decriminalising abortion in certain circumstances, this Bill will permit abortion on demand.”
The Archbishop said he was very grateful for the cooperation of so many across the Diocese, collecting more than 12,000 signatures in three days from Anglicans across Sydney and the Illawarra. “My contacts in Parliament House have indicated the impact of these numbers, along with tens of thousands of other signatures across other denominations and faith groups,” he said.
Dr Davies urged promotion for the ‘Rally for Life’ on Sunday afternoon, 15 September in Hyde Park. Rally details here)
“It is our last chance to make a big display of support for the life of the unborn before the Upper House considers the Bill. The previous rally in Martin Place received significant news coverage, and it certainly attracted the attention of the politicians. It is time to do it again: bigger and better. I shall be there, along with other faith leaders, pro-life MPs and those active in the pro-life cause.”
Dr Davies said in historical context, it is not since the days of Archbishop Howard Mowll that Sydney Anglicans were invited to join a public demonstration of their faith in this way. In the 1940s, the Archbishop invited Anglicans to take part in a march from the domain to the Cathedral, in protest of the opening of the Royal Easter Show on Good Friday.
“Our protest is arguably more significant, as our Parliament moves to allow the death of the most vulnerable and most voiceless in our society, the image-bearers of God in utero.”
Dr. Davies as reported here has not stated the full conservative Christian position on abortion. He has not reiterated the sacred nature of human life or the full human status of the baby in the womb. He has not clearly stated why abortion is not a ‘reproductive health’ issue scientifically or morally. He has not refuted the popular assumptions behind abortion, namely that a baby in the womb is not a person, and that abortion is an exercise of a woman’s right to control her own body. I hope that he does not neglect these important issues in his public utterances.
Dr. Davies has called for “a big display of support for the life of the unborn,” whom he describes as “the image-bearers of God in utero.” It’s not a detailed discussion, but it seems to be pretty clear on the issue at stake.
Your comments Stephen are quite valid, however the point of this article is to issue an invitation to the Christian troops to stand up and be counted at a Rally on Sunday 15 September, to make their voices heard in light of so much misinformation in popular culture. May their voices be heard by politicians and the community.
No doubt Archbishop Glenn will raise the issues you mention in other forums.
We’ll certainly keep praying for the Rally from here in Adelaide. God is a great God!
I am reading John Scriven’s book “Belief and the Nation” put out by Wilberforce Publications. In this book it mentions that since 1967 the year of the Abortion Act, over seven million(!) babies have been aborted – or rather, murdered. Over seven million. Yet our political leaders tell us that we have an ageing population and therefore we had to replace that shortage not by encouraging families by having more children as was done after WW2, but instead by importing more people..
Now, not content with that some want to increase the horror by allowing full term babies with all their senses developed all their little fingers and toes perfectly formed, to be murdered.
As a Christian I would say that as we abandon the true Gospel of our Lord Jesus Christ we move further into the darkness where the demons of the old religions still dwell…