This week marks another important moment for the pro-life movement in South Australia.
On Wednesday, Hon Sarah Game MLC officially introduced a new amendment to restrict late-term abortions from 25 weeks’ gestation.
I joined a group of pro-life advocates involved in supporting this Bill on the steps of Parliament Wednesday evening, displaying artworks by Elspeth MacKellar titled “Human Error”. This artwork pictured slavery shackles, a baby in the womb, and abortion instruments alongside an ironic statement, “Abortion is Healthcare, Slavery is Business”- highlighting the dehumanising logic of the abortion industry.
The Australian Christian Lobby thanks the Hon Sarah Game MLC for putting forward this amendment, seconded by Hon Dennis Hood MLC in the Legislative Council.
While similar Bills did not pass in 2024 and 2025, the newly elected South Australian Parliament presents a new landscape and significant opportunity to advance the pro-life cause further in our State.
Since abortion up to birth was legalised in South Australia in 2022, official statistics show that at least 105 babies have been aborted after 22 weeks’ gestation – including in the third trimester. Tragically, these abortions have occurred even for “mental health reasons.”
At 25 weeks, babies are capable of surviving outside the womb with modern neonatal care. They can respond to touch, hear their parents’ voices, and survive with intensive medical support.
And yet, under current law, healthy viable babies can still be deliberately killed in utero through feticide.
This new Bill would prohibit abortions from 25 weeks except in narrow emergency circumstances involving serious risk to the mother’s life. We are confident that this exception will not need to be used, as abortion is not a procedure conducted in obstetric emergencies.
There are 19 MPs in the new Parliament who have never voted on abortion legislation before. In the Upper House, the addition of three One Nation MLCs alongside returning members such as Ben Hood MLC and Heidi Girolamo MLC means we believe reform in this area has a promising pathway forward.
South Australians did not vote for abortion up to birth. Many MPs were assured during the 2021 debate that late-term abortions for mental health reasons would not occur. Official data now shows otherwise.
This is a critical opportunity to restore protections for vulnerable unborn babies and affirm the dignity of every human life.
