Abortion in Australia
Pro-life speaker Bruce Coleman (Choices Of Life) spoke in our school this week, regarding the value of life and the Christian response to abortion. Several students expressed thanks for the informative and practical presentation, which also prompted me to do some research.
Some online statistics I gathered:
- Australia’s abortion rate is high in comparison to other developed nations.
- There are around 90,000 abortions in Australia each year, or two aborted lives for every five live births.
- There are 800 abortions each week in NSW.
- A woman seeking abortion is most likely to be aged in her 20s, single, childless, well educated and employed.
- The vast majority of abortions relate to convenience, not to medical purposes, rape or foetal deformities.
- According to one survey of around 4000 Australians, over 80% believed abortion is a right. In the same survey, over 75% of Australians with religious views supported the right to abortion. Even among evangelical Protestants surveyed, over 50% were pro-abortion. (2003 Australian Survey of Social Attitudes)
If you are pro-life, you are in the minority. If you actually participate in promoting the right to life, you belong to an even smaller minority. One thing is certain: it’s hard to face these statistics without wanting to do something.
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Wow. Very sobering. Hard to imagine a “Christianity” in which abortion is ok…
That’s so sad! How could anyone justify the killing of a baby because it’s just not convenient?! Let alone those who are supposed to be Christians!!
im doing a project on this at school. when i saw the stats i couldnt believe people could just kill a baby because if they had it, it would somehow “get in the way” of their life!!
To all the people that say abortion is wrong, i agree. Though after finding out I was pregnant at 4 weeks at 24 yers of age, Still studying, living out of home with all the bills and medical costs i already have for my type one diabeties, Yes i have a loving and supportive partner, though he is still at uni and we currently between us live on less then 500 dollars a week . answer me this, how is it fair to bring a baby in to the world when you find it hard just looking after your self? A baby deserves a mum and dad that can support that baby easily with out having to deny them things because they dont have enough money to buy nappies, formula and food, what about a good education clothes and other thing that come along when a child grows up. The queensland goverenment does not give enough money ,and they should not have to, in order for someone to be able to keep a baby. If your going to have a baby you have to be ready to take reponsibility and have the financial means to be able to look after a baby.
Amanda,
I am sorry you’ve found yourself in this difficult situation. It’s never easy to have to struggle to pay the bills.
To answer your question, if someone doesn’t want to bring a child into the world, they must avoid conception. Once a child is conceived, he/she has already been brought into the world for better or for worse.
There is the option of putting a child out for adoption from birth. Though I cannot imagine how hard it would be to feel like that was the only option, I know that there are many couples that would love and care for the child. I have cousins who were adopted at birth and am so thankful that they were allowed to live.
But I guess the main thing I would want to do would be to encourage you that while it is normal and appropriate for a parent to want to give their child nice things and good opportunities, it is so important to remember that this is not what the child needs most. What a child needs most is a loving home where they are cared for and protected, where they are taught how to live well, and where they are taught their need of the Saviour, Jesus Christ. None of these things costs a lot of money.
Children are resilient and adaptable. They can enjoy life with money or without it. The standard of living provided by even a low Queensland income (which will include a sizeable baby bonus and child support payments) is more than enough to give the child what he/she needs because mostly what he/she really needs is you and her father: his/her parents.
I pray that you will have wisdom moving forward and please drop me an email (tojasonharris@yahoo.com) if there’s anything I can do to help.
please visit my free pro-life video song on you tube at grunz2304