Please view and share a link to this footage. Many do not know that Victoria now has abortion on demand up until birth!!  Please join us today in the fight against abortion.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=7p4LVSmKx5M&feature=related 

With Theresa Burke, Founder of Rachel’s Vineyard Retreat Ministries
Date: March 9-11, 2012 
Venue: Mt St Benedict Centre,  Pennant Hills, Sydney.
A conference supporting networking and development of those in Rachel’s Vineyard Retreat Ministries to people seeking spiritual healing from the grief and loss after an abortion.

Grief and Loss - Multifaith Perspectives
A Half Day Workshop for Pastoral Carers, Clergy and Health Professionals
Date: March 10, 2012  9am - 12.30pm 
Venue: Mt St Benedict Centre,  Pennant Hills, Sydney. More details soon - Web: rachelsvineyard.org.au 

Monsignor Philip Reilly of the Helpers of God's Precious Infants fame and Steve Mosher from the Population Research Institute(PRI) will be co-hosting the conference.  A "stellar" line up of other speakers will be announced shortly.

There will be an opening Mass, followed by a BBQ for a 'meet and greet' opportunity on the evening of the 26th followed by conference sessions over the next three days, culminating in a closing mass on Sunday at 12:30 pm.    

Further details will be released shortly on their website, fli.org.au  This conference will be closely followed by the next 40 Days for Life campaign beginning 22 February, 2012.

By Bill Muehlenberg - Used with permission.

Whenever I speak on the subject of abortion I always remind my listeners that it is not enough to point the finger and simply say the obvious, that abortion is wrong. We must also provide practical help for those being pushed into an abortion.

I tell them that if a scared 15-year-old girl comes to them, pregnant and alone, with no hope, what will they be doing about it? What will they offer her? If her parents have kicked her out of the home and her boyfriend says ‘get an abortion or I’m leaving,’ where does that leave her?

Simply telling her she should not have an abortion does little good at all. Instead, churches and concerned groups should have pregnancy crisis centres as part of their ministry, making a safe and comfortable place available for people such as this. They can be looked after and loved as the baby develops, and upon birth various alternatives can be examined, such as adoption or other options.

This is the very practical and necessary work all believers should aim for, be it in their churches or elsewhere. We must do all we can to help women such as this. And of course such help has always been a part of the pro-life movement. Indeed, back in 1994 an important book highlighting this very thing appeared by Frederica Mathewes-Green.

Entitled Real Choices: Offering Practical, Life-Affirming Alternatives to Abortion, it did just that. Based on extension surveys and interviews with women considering abortion, she found that in “nearly every case, the abortion was undertaken to fulfil a felt obligation to another person, a parent or boyfriend. . . . The woman felt bound to please or protect some other person, and abortion was the price she had to pay.”

In her very helpful book she offers various alternatives to abortion, and shows us how we can make a real difference in the lives of these women. And as a perfect illustration of this, an article in the Australian press has just demonstrated such caring alternatives.

In a South Australian newspaper yesterday there appeared an article about a great prolifer who lives near Adelaide and is making genuine contributions to the lives of some of these women. Here is how the piece begins: “Robyn Grace is spending thousands helping pregnant women on temporary visas keep their babies. These pregnancies would otherwise be terminated.

“The 43-year-old Mt Barker resident is meeting the medical costs which the women and their partners can’t afford because they are being allowed into the country without private health insurance, have no access to Medicare and work in low paying jobs. ‘These woman are falling pregnant and facing abortions because the costs of having the baby are prohibitive,’ Mrs Grace said.

“She has funded five migrant births with the help of donations at a cost of around $7500 each since 2009. ‘They wanted to keep their babies and I helped out, but who knows how many others are out there in the same situation without anyone to turn to.’

“Mrs Grace is married to Trevor Grace, a controversial anti-abortion candidate at the last state election, and is currently helping Indian migrant Parvezraza Sherasia, 31, and his wife Zaynabben, 33, to have their second child. The Klemzig couple were going to terminate the unplanned pregnancy because they could not afford to pay for medical costs to have the baby.

“Mr Sherasia, who is employed as a storeman under a three-year working visa, said the couple went to a GP and explained their financial situation and were told they could visit a clinic for a ‘medical termination’. ‘At first we thought we would have to do it but my wife started to cry and that affected me,’ Mr Sherasia said. He pays income tax and the Medicare levy, but will not receive welfare benefits for his newborn under the temporary visa conditions.”

Now that is a real case of compassionate conservatism, of offering genuine choice for pregnant women. This is the sort of sacrificial help we must offer these women wherever possible. Not everyone will have the financial resources to make such donations, but if they have a supportive church or group around them, such funds might still become available.

And there are so many other ways we can offer real help here. Simply having crisis pregnancy centres set up with volunteers willing to lend a listening ear and a compassionate heart can go a long ways in this regard. The sky is really the limit in terms of what we can be doing for these women, so many of whom are being forced into having an abortion.

Most women would rather not have an abortion if they knew they had some tangible support and assistance during this difficult period. Prolifers can and should be offering such support. Well done to Robyn, Trevor and so many others who are making a practical and life-affirming difference in the lives of so many women.

And as if on cue, just as I was about to post this article, I received an email about an upcoming adoption conference. See the video here: www.youtube.com/watch?v=E5R349rjzvs&feature=player_embedded

And conference details can be found here: www.togetherforadoption.org/?page_id=10316

www.adelaidenow.com.au/news/south-australia/money-worries-for-migrant-mums-to-be/story-e6frea83-1226186694705

A participant from the '40 Days for Life' campaign in Melbourne sent this in:

"WOW!! The Carlton (Berkeley St) abortion clinic is CLOSING DOWN from next week, N ovember 1. They have announced they are “relocating” their services to the existing abortion clinic in East Melbourne (Fertility Control Clinic) as the Doctor/owner is semi retiring. Great news!! 

It has been a blessing to hear of the many turnarounds over the last few months at this Carlton clinic during the peaceful prayerful presence from the Helpers. It’s now less than 2 weeks to go until this 40 Days for Life campaign ends - let’s multiply our efforts at the East Melbourne clinic as we pray for this one to shut down too!"

For information about joining Melbourne's '40 Days for Life' campaign (it finishes on November 6 for this year), click here. 

Other exciting news: Life News has reported that 361 mothers have changed their minds about abortion during the current 40 Days for Life campaign. Read more here.

The annual 'March for the Babies' was held last Saturday (Oct 10, 2011) in Melbourne. Life Network Australia wishes to congratulate the MFTB committee and chairman, Bernie Finn, on a fantastic and well organised day - as well as applaud those who came from near and far to participate. 

This year's March was held on the third anniversary of the passing of the most extreme abortion legislation in the western world - with babies now able to be legally aborted right up until birth (and some babies even being born alive and left to die - Vic Health Department Report). Legal protection for women and girls has also been removed through the rejection of amendments by the Brumby Government, in 2008.

Guest speakers at the march included: Bernie Finn, President of the 'March for the Babies' committee; Helen Parker, The Babes Project; Cindy Collins, U.S pro life activist - intimately involved in legislative changes supporting the rights of children before birth; Honourable Greg Smith MP SC, NSW Attorney-General;  Marlene Kairouz MP, Opposition Whip; and Michael Gidley Member for Mount Waverley.
Music was provided by an impressive Amy K!

The crowd at the march consisted of people of all ages, from babies through to the elderly, with lots of teenagers and young families. 

Please mark October 13 on your calendar for next year's march, as we continue to advocate for the unborn and their mothers and families. 

See footage and following pictures for a snap shot of the day.