In desperate, bleak times, we need those rare, brave souls who will rise to the occasion and make a difference when it is really needed. Sadly they are few and far between. But it seems there are always a handful who will rise up and meet the need of the hour.
When things get the darkest and the ugliest, most folks simply run for cover. But a few brave individuals will face the gathering gloom head on, and seek to make a real difference. They are willing to pay the price – any price – to do that which is right, and that which needs to be done.
There are so many areas where this is so important. Clearly the need to rescue those being led to their slaughter is a key area. With 100,000 unborn babies slaughtered every year in Australia, and 45-50 million a year world-wide, we desperately need men and women who will stand up for the unborn.
One such hero who is risking everything to rescue these babies is Queenslander Graham Preston. Five years ago I wrote a piece about this brave pro-lifer. Even back then he had already spent a lot of time in jail for his pro-life convictions:
https://billmuehlenberg.com/2007/04/24/are-we-willing-to-pay-the-price/
He is back at it again, willing to lose his freedoms on the behalf of the unborn. Graham is now back in prison for another eight months. His crime? Seeking to prevent those who would continue the genocide of the unborn. Just as earlier brave culture warriors – usually Christians – fought the evil slave trade, so too today some heroic believers are putting their life on the line for the unborn. Here is part of Graham’s latest story:
“A father of seven children will spend 8 months in jail starting Wednesday as a result of his efforts to the defend the unborn. It is the longest jail-term ever received by an Australian pro-life activist. Graham Preston, 56, was called by police last week to arrange a time for his arrest. He negotiated to move it back from 8am to 9am this coming Wednesday, May 2, so he would have enough time to get his children to school.
“Mr. Preston will serve 232 days in prison – seeing him out just in time for Christmas – for refusing to pay roughly $8000 in fines that have accumulated after ten years of non-violently blocking the entrances of four abortion clinics around Brisbane.
“Since beginning non-violent direct action with the group Protect Life almost exactly ten years ago (April 16, 2002), Mr. Preston has endured more than ten months in jail over five separate jail-terms – mostly in Brisbane’s maximum security Arthur Gorrie Correctional Centre.
“The warrant for Mr. Preston’s arrest came after he received a letter from the Queensland Justice Department telling him he had until April 6 – coincidentally, Good Friday – to pay the fines or else face prison. Mr. Preston refuses to pay the fines on principle, arguing that trying to save the innocent from harm should not be regarded as criminal behaviour.”
The article continues, “Two years ago, Mr. Preston wrote on his website: ‘Going to jail is of course not a desirable thing, either for the person who does so, or for their family who may be very directly negatively affected. Yet our conviction is that this is probably an unavoidable part of seeing the value of all human lives given proper recognition. When anyone pays a very high price for something, it makes everyone ask the question, is it worth it? That is what we want our society to be asking, what are preborn babies worth? We want to say that babies’ lives are worth a person’s, or even many persons’, freedom.’
“Warwick Marsh, the National Co-ordinator of the Canberra Declaration, said: ‘Graham is one of Australia’s great heroes, truly putting the kids of Australia first. He is being unjustly imprisoned for his peaceful protests, while murderers and rapists walk free from our court systems and jails’.”
His wife Liz has also written about this latest stint in prison: “In the minds of some, if the mother or parents of a preborn child decide that they want to have an abortion, then their child loses absolutely all right to have their life protected. But not everyone is prepared to simply turn away and abandon such children to death. And not without good reason either.
“The Universal Declaration of Human Rights, to which Australia is a signatory, states in the opening paragraph of the Preamble: ‘. . . recognition of the inherent dignity and of the equal and inalienable rights of all members of the human family is the foundation of freedom, justice and peace in the world’. Article 3 of the Declaration reads: ‘Everyone has the right to life, liberty, and security of person’.
“The Convention on the Rights of the Child (1990), to which Australia is also a signatory, reaffirms in the Preamble the following statement from the earlier Declaration of the Rights of the Child (1959): ‘. . . the child, by reason of his physical and mental immaturity, needs special safeguards and care, including appropriate legal protection, both before as well as after birth’.
“However the reality in Australia today is that, regardless of Australia being a signatory to the above documents, there is effectively no legal protection given to the child before birth. If a woman wants to end her child’s life by abortion, so long as she has the money to pay for it, she can visit an abortion clinic and readily get it done.
“Between 90,000 and 100,000 babies are killed by abortion in Australia each year, yet here in Queensland, if a person should assault a pregnant woman and subsequently her child dies, the assailant can be punished with life imprisonment – the same penalty that is given for killing a born person.
“So we have a situation where a preborn child’s life is regarded as being as valuable as anyone else’s life – if the mother wants the child – but if the mother does not want the child, then somehow the child, apparently, loses all value and rights and can be killed by abortion.”
She concludes: “Yes, my husband and the others have been found to be breaking the law in their efforts to come to the defence of children who are scheduled to be aborted. It is clearly no small thing for them to defy the law and do so over and over again. Yet laws, which allow for the wholesale destruction of innocent human life, cannot be taken to be absolute.
“As Martin Luther King Jr. wrote in his famous letter from Birmingham jail, ‘. . .there are two types of laws: just and unjust. I would be the first to advocate obeying just laws. One has not only a legal but a moral responsibility to obey just laws. Conversely, one has a moral responsibility to disobey unjust laws.’ Yes, if a child is about to be killed, all of us should try to save the child – even if we are sent to jail for doing so.”
We all need to pray for Graham and his family. We also can take practical action in this regard. Send your words of comfort and support here: contact@protect-life.info
Proverbs 24:11 speaks clearly to our responsibility in all this: “Rescue those being led away to death; hold back those staggering toward slaughter.” Graham and his family are actively doing this. What are we doing for those being led to their destruction?
There are no doubt plenty of evangelistic opportunities in prison. Maybe he can found a Prison Fellowship like Chuck Colson did.
Jereth Kok
“So we have a situation where a preborn child’s life is regarded as being as valuable as anyone else’s life – if the mother wants the child – but if the mother does not want the child, then somehow the child, apparently, loses all value and rights and can be killed by abortion.”
This is exactly how those who kill their babies see it. I had a conversation a few weeks back and asked straight out if a foetus became a person/baby if the mother wanted it and was told yes. It’s only when a baby can live on its own that it should be considered as a separate being.
I was gobsmacked. Especially when the talk turned to timelines, and a baby can be aborted up to about 25 weeks, yet in the event of a premature labour, where the baby is also 25 weeks, every effort is made to save its life because the mother wants it, and that’s okay.
As a christian, according to my friend, it’s not our role to judge the mother’s decision in this matter, because we’re supposed to love and have compassion.
As a christian, as much as I love my friend, on this they are appallingly wrong, and they don’t understand their faith.
I have a sneaking suspicion that this is an area they don’t want to really delve into as they work in medicine, and have participated in abortions.
The guilt would be terrible to bear if they ever came to realise the enormity of their ‘work’.
Debra Franklin
Yes quite right Debra.
Bill Muehlenberg, CultureWatch
Debra, you should’ve asked your friend if that “love and compassion” extends to the pre-born baby?
Ewan McDonald, Victoria.
One thing that is truly shocking is that they tripled the usual punishment for fine dodgers, so it shows that they are actively trying to intimidate those who dare go against this law. The norm punishment is 1 day per $100 not paid, but in his instance it is 3 per 100. Absolutely shocking.
Ian Nairn
Debra,
If your friend is saying that “It’s only when a baby can live on its own that it should be considered as a separate being”, an interesting question to ask them might be:
“At what age do you think a baby is able to live on it’s own?”
How would the baby feed itself?, keep itself warm? etc… without the intervention of hospital staff or its parents. If they are suggesting that the capacity to live on its own is the determining factor of whether it’s permissible to terminate its life or not, then ask them, on their view, what would be wrong with terminating a 1 year old or a 2 year old? It’s a technique called “trotting out the toddler” and can often help to clarify what the issue really is about for the person concerned.
If you are interested, a person who has distilled the issue of abortion down to one issue is Scott Klusendorf. He heads up the Life Training Institute in the USA (http://www.prolifetraining.com) and is a regular speaker and debater on the subject. His book “The Case for Life: Equipping Christians to Engage the Culture” is excellent. He has summarised how to defend the pro-life position in 5 minutes on the website.
If you want to see him fleshing out the argument in more detail and defending against the main pro-choice arguments, Biola University have made available a series of their class lectures available for free on YouTube. The series is “Ethics at the Edge of Life” and the playlist can be found here: http://www.youtube.com/playlist?list=PLE4C867C1C1F81AC9&feature=plpp
It’s not hard to defend the pro-life position – anyone can do it, but it takes a little bit of study and a little bit of time. It’s not hard to find the time to watch a few of the videos listed above.
If we are to really change the culture, it is essential to be able to engage with and discuss the issue amongst family and friends and the wider community. Only then can you make abortion, unthinkable.
David Gee
Thanks Bill – what a great example Mr Preston is.
I read the ‘Protect Life’ website and they had a quote from Francis Schaeffer that said,
“Every abortion clinic should have a sign hanging over their front door saying, ‘This abortion clinic is open by permission of the local churches’.”
Annette Williams
Bill.
Although this is slightly off topic, it does fit with the argument the pro-abortionists are using.
The template for all these arguments were firstly set with the “evolution” debate. All the “scientific” techniques (selective data/evidence, selective ability to publish, carefully selected insults for the other side, “flat earther” “creationist” “science is settled” “its a scientific fact”), hiding behind lawyers and judges to discredit the other side, are all being employed by those who wish to bring in social changes that very specifically target God and therefore the Churches for attack and destruction, including the people who are within those organisations.
To paraphrase Charles Lyell, once they find an alternative narrative to the history and laws of Moses, they can destroy utterly the church and all who follow it. Its just a case of doing a bit of dot to dot to figure out they are all tarred with the same satanic brush.
Anyhow, I am sure you could do an entire series on the similarities of these groups and their arguments, I just thought I would let you know what I see.
Neil Waldron
Graham is a hero. People may think that it is foolish for him to go to prison but he and his family are making a profound sacrifice that puts all of us to shame. None of us do enough. I have met Graham in person and he is a truly holy man. He’s not some crazed activist who just wants attention, but rather a man of deep conviction with an enormous heart. May we all think deeply about how much we are ready to sacrifice to stop the slaughter of these innocents. May we all be Graham Prestons.
Anna von Marburg
The Attorney General in Queensland is Jarrod Bleijie a good family man. Write a respectful letter to him on Graham’s behalf. attorneygeneral@ministerial.qld.gov.au
Des Morris
As much as I can empathize with Mr Preston for exercising his conscience, it’s not clear that his actions will do anything to significantly advance a public reaction against unlimited abortion. Those that already see the unjustified taking of a life for what it is, will probably applaud his actions. Those that are in favour of unlimited abortion will ridicule him as yet another pro-life extremist.
If the fight against unjustified and unlimited abortion is to be won (assuming it can be) then it will not be through using tactics that will brand those who oppose abortion as extreme fanatics.
I suggest the focus should be on strategies that will counter the rationale that says (1) an unborn fetus is not yet a person and therefore can be eliminated for convenience; (2) that abortion does not leave a mother scarred for life; and (3) that accepting the practice of unlimited, unfettered abortion will not lead to the Nazi style practice of Eugenics (as recently advocated by some researchers in the US).
These are all arguments that can be refuted publicly without the need for breaking the law.
A focus on convincing the large middle ground comprised those who “go along” with “the right to choose”, is the better battleground to choose rather than those of Mr Preston, no matter how much we may admire him or feel for his situation. Battles within the law using wise strategies are usually much more effective than guerrilla tactics.
John Galanos
Thanks John
Historically Christians have usually believed that in some extreme cases civil disobedience (obeying God rather than man) is morally legitimate and necessary. The abortion holocaust may well be one such instance when this is acceptable. It involves disobedience, along with being willing to accept the consequences of such disobedience. But I discuss this more fully in these two articles;
Moreover, I am not sure peaceful protests outside of abortion clinics, and the like, are to be seen as “guerrilla tactics”.
Bill Muehlenberg, CultureWatch
John, the plain truth is that this man has courage and love that few of us can aspire to. It is this kind of selflessness that contrasts glaringly with unadulterated evil.
It was only when Jesus Christ was hanging on the cross that the centurion “glorified God, saying Certainly this was righteous man” (Luke 24:47). Are you saying that Jesus’ action was fanatic and that His action was one of simply seeking attention?
Let us not try to take anything away from this man. What courage. What love and what evil he shines the light on.
David Skinner, UK
Bill,
Appreciate and always respect your comments Bill.
Let me be very clear, I am opposed to the termination of unborn human life except for a few very narrow reasons such as saving the mother’s life.
However, if the same energy that goes into the conduct of vigils outside clinics and the harassment of their staff, went into a more focused public campaign to sway the bulk of the voters and our representatives with strong arguments of fact (which are there) then I believe much more could be accomplished.
Simple things like cutting off the public money supply to such practices alone would reduce the number of abortions. But this first requires the swaying of the voters and the legislators. I do not accept that Mr Preston’s tactics will achieve this.
What has happened to Mr Preston may well be unconscionable but public servants are not likely to not apply the law regardless of whether they agree with him or not.
The target should be to change the law, and it’s better to white ant it rather than seek to tear it down in one go.
We need to learn a lesson from the Pink Lobby who has white-anting of laws down to a fine art.
Hope to meet up with you again sometime Bill.
Cheers,
John Galanos
Ewan, it’s not a ‘baby’ unless the mother wishes it. Too bad also if the father wants the child, it’s the mother’s choice, and apparently we have no right to make her feel bad about it.
We don’t know why a woman makes the decision to abort, only that she chooses and that’s that.
My friend is a born again, although is not actively participating in any faith community. I think that is their problem; Friend has nobody to help keep them on the path.
Apologies for the clumsy, non-gendered phrasing, but I usually comment at most sites under a psuedonym, and I prefer not to give clues to who I discuss or break confidence.
Debra Franklin
Thanks John
Admittedly pro-lifers can and do differ as to various tactics, strategies, and what is the best way to end abortion. Such differences will likely always exist. I guess my take on this case is that Graham is doing something, and that is far more than most other pro-lifers are doing.
Perhaps his case will slowly but surely resonate in society at large, just as some radical moves by the abolitionists helped to sway public opinion and eventually shift public opinion. They too were criticised by many, but God could use them in that important battle.
I must say that I cannot really fault him. While various sorts of actions and activities will be needed to end this evil, he is one man actually standing up for his convictions. So many of us just discuss them.
And yes, it would be good to catch up some time again.
Bill Muehlenberg, CultureWatch
God bless Graham Preston, a champion among men. May his reward be great when he comes up before his Maker. How about offering to send money to help his wife when the going gets tough?
Ian Brearley
Thanks guys
I would imagine that a family of nine with the main bread winner in prison would have lots of financial needs. If you would like to help out in any way you can, you can get in touch with Graham’s wife Liz. She offers the following contact details:
Indeed Bill, many of you wrote to Edward Atkinson a crippled octogenarian who went into prison in Britain, precisely for the same reason as Graham. He was overwhelmed by the letters sent from Australia, encouraging and wishing him well.
Jesus Christ could have written all the letters under the sun, but only his action defeated evil. Criticising Graham is just a cover for our own cowardice.
David Skinner, UK
Hello John. Tell that to the women who have decided to keep their babies after speaking with our sidewalk counsellors in front of abortion clinics. It might not seem like much to you, but it means a lot to those women and babies saved, some of which may grow up and become the movers and shakers who finally end abortion by one of the many approaches needed in this battle…might even just be a humble soul without the intellect to put forth sophisticated arguments to “white ant” abortion but has two hands to put together in prayer.
Anna von Marburg
Hi John,
I too have struggled with the same kind of questions that you are asking. I have come to the conviction that there are limitless ways of acting and each of them reach different people. For this reason I have chosen never to criticize any one who does any thing in the cause of pro life. While some people hate graphic abortion signage – it does ‘shock’ some people into thinking and acting differently about abortion.
As far as going to abortion clinics, one assumption that many people make which is just plain incorrect is that by this stage the woman has weighed up her options, has spent time in talking to her friends and family etc and is making a rational and considered decision.
Unfortunately, this is most often far from the truth. Because our laws do not insist on a mandatory waiting period, or independent counselling or even a doctors referral, women are very often completely ignorant of their true options and make a hasty decision to abort based very often on anxiety, misinformation and the coercion of their friends and family network.
(Studies in the US say us that around 64% of women felt they were coerced into their abortions).
Some women may not have one single person in their lives, willing to support them if they choose to keep their baby.
That’s why sidewalk counselling at abortion clinics is so essential. For some, a sidewalk counsellor may be the first supportive person they talk too and the first person to offer them a real ‘choice’.
Annette Williams
A true hero, a man prepared to stand for his convictions and suffer the consequences, prepared to defend the helpless and most vulnerable in our society, the unborn. Where are the others? May God raise up more men like Graham Preston.
The argument that ‘It’s only when a baby can live on its own that it should be considered as a separate being’ is very slippery indeed, especially when you consider that in Jesus time, the Roman culture was that children were not considered to be ‘full people’, they only had ‘potential status’. Children were at the mercy of their fathers, who had a life or death hold over them.
Fred Merlo
I believe that many women who go to abortion mills do not want to abort their babies. They need someone to offer them help and support. What is apparent is these women having abortions never go in smiling most are crying and deeply distressed. I thank God for people like Graham there to protect the unborn and women from making the biggest mistake of their lives. One has to remember the woman is and will always be a mother, she will just be the mother of a dead baby that she has killed. All in the name of “My right, My body and My Choice”!
To those who criticise Graham’s tactics. I ask you have you had the courage to go to the abortion mills and witness the bloody carnage that goes on? Have you given help and supported women who are pregnant? If you haven’t you have no right to criticise. Why? Because if you have been to an abortion clinic you would be so convicted of what really goes on that you would get off your backside and do something about it.
Robyn Grace
Hello Bill,
I have sent this article to a school-teacher friend who is going to place a copy of it on the table (Teachers’ Common Room I assume) at his school.
He says that the article is excellent and that it should be sent to The Catholic Weekly. I will do as he has suggested to-day.
I can not find any reference to Mr. Preston been sent to prison in the Main Stream Media.
Donald Battaglini
Graham and Liz are truly Brave Hearts. God’s power and glory is revealed and fulfilled by acts such as theirs. Those who crossed Graham’s path, whether women at the abortion clinic, abortionists, nurses, cleaners, those who handcuffed him, those doing the paper work for his conviction or those who talked about him (and still are) over their tea break, or pondered his actions in their while driving home from work or in their beds, can never ever ever say to the One who sits on the white great white throne, on that day we must all face (Rev 20:11), “When did You ever tell me killing these little ones was wrong.” For He will simply say, “I sent my servant Graham and he told you, but you would not listen.”
Trevor Grace
Robyn,
The abortion issue is a very emotive one and can be as divisive amongst pro-lifers as it is between the pro-life and the pro-choice camps and that’s a real shame.
To that end, I’m not sure that the sentiments you expressed in your last paragraph are altogether helpful or warranted.
To summarise your view, what I hear you saying, and correct me if I’ve misinterpreted it, is “unless you’ve actually experienced it, you’ve no right to criticise it”. That might sound OK on the surface but when you look at where that view leads, one would have to say for example, that unmarried people have no right to speak out against wife beatings – they don’t know what it’s like to be married, they haven’t experienced the pressures. Unless I’ve owned slaves and had to deal with all that comes with that, I’ve no right to speak out against slavery, after all, what would I know, I haven’t experienced it.
It’s the same logical fallacy that is brought up by pro-choice people criticising men for defending the pro-life position. What right have they got to speak? They don’t get pregnant, they don’t experience it so they have no right to speak against abortion.
In fact by you saying “Have you given help and supported women who are pregnant? If you haven’t you have no right to criticise.”, you’ve taken a tactic right out of the pro-choice play book, only you are turning it around on those that support pro-life.
That’s disappointing.
This is a fall back position often used to avoid discussing what an abortion is. They argue that unless you are prepared to care for all the children who will be born and the mothers afterwards because they don’t get an abortion, you’ve no right to speak against abortion. Can you see the parallels?
Lastly, you seem to link doing something about abortion as being the kind of intervention that Mr Preston and his supporters are engaged in by accusing people who haven’t witnessed what goes on at abortion clinics as not getting off their backsides and doing something about it.
Really? Does that sound fair to you? Do you think direct intervention is the only way and everyone else engaged in the abortion debate are just sitting around on their backsides?
To change a culture that largely accepts abortion requires a number of methods working together to achieve a common goal. Respectful discussion of the various ways people try to change the culture are surely more conducive to achieving this goal.
Reflecting on previous articles Bill has written, the ambulances at the bottom of a cliff are akin to the side-walk counsellors, mobile information vans and peaceful protesting outside clinics (ie the last point of contact). Engaging in discussions at high schools, universities and debates is akin to building a fence at the top of the cliff (ie the earliest point of contact).
These analogies are not exactly the best, I realise, but are close enough to make the point that both ends of the spectrum are valuable and needed, as is everything in between.
David Gee
Response not good enough. Protest to Government needed. And no matter how people look at it, nor at what stage, abortion kills a living human being!!!
Elwyn Sheppard
Another great article Bill and thank you for leaving that line about Graham being one of Australia’s greatest heroes in because it is true. Someone contacted me to belittle Graham Preston for his actions suggesting he should obey the police and move on. This what I said to him.
Dear “Sir”
Thank you for your forthright opinion. I don’t know if you live in Queensland but thankfully it is still illegal to kill babies in Queensland. The police are breaking the law by not enforcing it while Graham Preston is engaged in peacefully trying to uphold a law that the police are happy to break. Have you not heard of the UN declaration of human rights which states that you and I and our children, born or yet to be born, have the “right to life?” Does anyone in this world have the right to take it away?
Would you protest if I was to stage a peaceful protest and sit down in the doorway of one of the killing centres into which you were to be carried to be euthanatized because your life was not deemed to be something of value? I doubt you would complain. If Graham has saved one child’s life it is all worth it.
Kind Regards
Warwick Marsh
It does not matter what side you are on re Graham i.e. for or against his actions. What we should all fear is that it is a crime to try and save a life that is totally innocent of committing any crime.
That is the first step to a totalitarian state where the State decides who should live and who should die which is what it has done by passing abortion law.
Roger Marks
Is this what the careful dissection of the secular from the sacred has brought us, the decision over the final destiny of a live human embryo put into the hands of fickle human opinion – “if the mother wants the baby it is safe, if she doesn’t, it is not” rather than resting safe and securely in the opinion of the One who made that life and desires it to live, no matter how disappointing that life may end up being to Him who made it. I wish secularists would dare to think logically about these things and understand that human life including theirs is not safer in human hands than it is under divine law where all life is equally valued and protected. This is what they have done by taking God and His right to rule out of the public place. How many have to die before we realize the error and muster the courage to pray and act according to our master’s wishes?
Many blessings
Ursula Bennett
Elwyn,
Everyone posting on this blog article agrees that an abortion kills a living human being.
What do you think should be done in the case of ectopic pregnancies?
I have to agree with Roger – it really is a totalitarian state where the State decides who lives and who dies – unfortunately this is happening in more ways than abortion. Some Doctors routinely with hold treatment from older patients as they consider that their lives are not worth saving. Personally, I applaud Mr Preston and also Mrs Preston who is supporting him so beautifully! They are an example to the world of true Christianity in action.
Joan Davidson
Warwick Marsh, yes, that is exactly the point: the way very nice Christians will tell you that we must obey the law. When you tell them that the authorities have fined someone who objects to abortion or homosexuality and shut down their business, sent them to prison, or worse, turned a blind eye when thugs have physically attacked them, they reply, “but they have broken the law.”
Who is breaking the law in these cases? It is the state that allows fanatic secularists and anarchists to drive a coach and horses through human rights legislation. We need don’t need yet more legislation, lobbying of parliament, or drumming up public opinion. All we need to do is to invoke the law that is already there but of which we are ignorant.
Watching, the first video below, I am minded of the fact that both Nazis and abortion mill operators harvest body parts for commercial parts. But how soon before abortionists replicate the other practice of the Nazis by experimenting on live “subjects,” by experimenting on unwanted living foetuses of up to 24 weeks old? Is it happening already?
I do not believe that anyone has any doubt that neither the embryo nor the mother have any chance of living in the case of an ectopic pregnancy. This is maybe where faith can easily go over into irresponsibility. Though we should well believe that God can and does do miracles, without the expressed and witnessed intervention of God no ectopic pregnancy should be allowed to continue, for it will surely cost the life of both the mother and the baby. I guess once technology is able to save the life of that embryo either through implantation into the Uterus of the mother or through some kind of external incubation process, then as in all other situations all should be done to save both mother and baby. But I am only an amateur both in the field of ethics or medicine, maybe an expert can comment here. But I thought it an important enough question that should not be ignored.
Many blessings
Ursula Bennett
Thanks Ursula
This comes under the so-called ‘hard cases,’ dealing with the mother’s safety. Very few cases indeed come under this category. Obvious examples include an ectopic (tubal) pregnancy, or a cancerous uterus. In these cases probably both people would die if nothing was done. Thus action is taken to at least save the mother (often the baby is already dead, as in an ectopic pregnancy). So it is not really an abortion. The intention is to save the life of the mother. So I would not even classify this as a type of abortion (where the actual intent is to kill the child), but as a life saving procedure to protect the mother.
Bill Muehlenberg, CultureWatch
Ursula,
Thanks for taking the time to consider this difficult circumstance and respond with your thoughtful comments.
My point in raising it was simply out of what I took from the commenter to which it was addressed. Due to the emotional nature of the issue of abortion, before we go off protesting the government, I think it’s important to have considered all the issues surrounding abortion, semantics aside, as it at least demonstrates careful thought has gone into what it is you are protesting about.
As Bill has added to, there are rare circumstances where the health of the mother really is in jeopardy and abortion, or what term you think is more appropriate to call it in the circumstances, is a very real consideration. It would be nice if the world were always black and white and whilst we can argue effectively through discussion, lobbying, peaceful protesting etc… surrounding the central issue, we need to consider the grey as well.
I’m no expert in medical ethics either, but would think that where morals clash, we choose a course of action which achieves the highest moral good. As Christians who believe the grounding for our moral laws comes from the very nature of God, I believe we are in the best position to advocate for what the highest moral good might be.
David Gee
I agree with Bill, we must not be side tracked by allowing hard cases to be identified with what is going on here – industrial and global holocaust taking place within a few miles of each of our doorsteps, in a hospital or clinic near you; and this is why Graham is in prison; because he is a lone voice speaking up for the defenceless. This is no grey area but a red and bloody one.
David Skinner, UK
Love your line David:
“This is no grey area but a red and bloody one.”
Bill Muehlenberg, CultureWatch
David Skinner,
How do you see yourself being sidetracked?
Do you think being aware of a couple of rare circumstances is reason not to continue fighting to overturn abortion laws?
I’d be most surprised if you or anyone did. I certainly don’t. I think it better equips us in arguing for abortion to be abolished.
In case my position is not clear, I’m arguing for and fully supportive of abolishing abortion laws, save for the rare circumstances as they presently exist.
It is also my hope that the culture which accepts abortion so readily can one day be changed and it is to that end I’m doing what I can.
David Gee
May 12 is International Nurses Day.
Angela Schliebs
There are no doubt plenty of evangelistic opportunities in prison. Maybe he can found a Prison Fellowship like Chuck Colson did.
Jereth Kok
This is exactly how those who kill their babies see it. I had a conversation a few weeks back and asked straight out if a foetus became a person/baby if the mother wanted it and was told yes. It’s only when a baby can live on its own that it should be considered as a separate being.
I was gobsmacked. Especially when the talk turned to timelines, and a baby can be aborted up to about 25 weeks, yet in the event of a premature labour, where the baby is also 25 weeks, every effort is made to save its life because the mother wants it, and that’s okay.
As a christian, according to my friend, it’s not our role to judge the mother’s decision in this matter, because we’re supposed to love and have compassion.
As a christian, as much as I love my friend, on this they are appallingly wrong, and they don’t understand their faith.
I have a sneaking suspicion that this is an area they don’t want to really delve into as they work in medicine, and have participated in abortions.
The guilt would be terrible to bear if they ever came to realise the enormity of their ‘work’.
Debra Franklin
Yes quite right Debra.
Bill Muehlenberg, CultureWatch
Debra, you should’ve asked your friend if that “love and compassion” extends to the pre-born baby?
Ewan McDonald, Victoria.
One thing that is truly shocking is that they tripled the usual punishment for fine dodgers, so it shows that they are actively trying to intimidate those who dare go against this law. The norm punishment is 1 day per $100 not paid, but in his instance it is 3 per 100. Absolutely shocking.
Ian Nairn
Debra,
If your friend is saying that “It’s only when a baby can live on its own that it should be considered as a separate being”, an interesting question to ask them might be:
“At what age do you think a baby is able to live on it’s own?”
How would the baby feed itself?, keep itself warm? etc… without the intervention of hospital staff or its parents. If they are suggesting that the capacity to live on its own is the determining factor of whether it’s permissible to terminate its life or not, then ask them, on their view, what would be wrong with terminating a 1 year old or a 2 year old? It’s a technique called “trotting out the toddler” and can often help to clarify what the issue really is about for the person concerned.
If you are interested, a person who has distilled the issue of abortion down to one issue is Scott Klusendorf. He heads up the Life Training Institute in the USA (http://www.prolifetraining.com) and is a regular speaker and debater on the subject. His book “The Case for Life: Equipping Christians to Engage the Culture” is excellent. He has summarised how to defend the pro-life position in 5 minutes on the website.
If you want to see him fleshing out the argument in more detail and defending against the main pro-choice arguments, Biola University have made available a series of their class lectures available for free on YouTube. The series is “Ethics at the Edge of Life” and the playlist can be found here:
http://www.youtube.com/playlist?list=PLE4C867C1C1F81AC9&feature=plpp
It’s not hard to defend the pro-life position – anyone can do it, but it takes a little bit of study and a little bit of time. It’s not hard to find the time to watch a few of the videos listed above.
If we are to really change the culture, it is essential to be able to engage with and discuss the issue amongst family and friends and the wider community. Only then can you make abortion, unthinkable.
David Gee
Thanks Bill – what a great example Mr Preston is.
I read the ‘Protect Life’ website and they had a quote from Francis Schaeffer that said,
“Every abortion clinic should have a sign hanging over their front door saying, ‘This abortion clinic is open by permission of the local churches’.”
Annette Williams
Bill.
Although this is slightly off topic, it does fit with the argument the pro-abortionists are using.
The template for all these arguments were firstly set with the “evolution” debate. All the “scientific” techniques (selective data/evidence, selective ability to publish, carefully selected insults for the other side, “flat earther” “creationist” “science is settled” “its a scientific fact”), hiding behind lawyers and judges to discredit the other side, are all being employed by those who wish to bring in social changes that very specifically target God and therefore the Churches for attack and destruction, including the people who are within those organisations.
To paraphrase Charles Lyell, once they find an alternative narrative to the history and laws of Moses, they can destroy utterly the church and all who follow it. Its just a case of doing a bit of dot to dot to figure out they are all tarred with the same satanic brush.
Anyhow, I am sure you could do an entire series on the similarities of these groups and their arguments, I just thought I would let you know what I see.
Neil Waldron
Graham is a hero. People may think that it is foolish for him to go to prison but he and his family are making a profound sacrifice that puts all of us to shame. None of us do enough. I have met Graham in person and he is a truly holy man. He’s not some crazed activist who just wants attention, but rather a man of deep conviction with an enormous heart. May we all think deeply about how much we are ready to sacrifice to stop the slaughter of these innocents. May we all be Graham Prestons.
Anna von Marburg
The Attorney General in Queensland is Jarrod Bleijie a good family man. Write a respectful letter to him on Graham’s behalf. attorneygeneral@ministerial.qld.gov.au
Des Morris
As much as I can empathize with Mr Preston for exercising his conscience, it’s not clear that his actions will do anything to significantly advance a public reaction against unlimited abortion. Those that already see the unjustified taking of a life for what it is, will probably applaud his actions. Those that are in favour of unlimited abortion will ridicule him as yet another pro-life extremist.
If the fight against unjustified and unlimited abortion is to be won (assuming it can be) then it will not be through using tactics that will brand those who oppose abortion as extreme fanatics.
I suggest the focus should be on strategies that will counter the rationale that says (1) an unborn fetus is not yet a person and therefore can be eliminated for convenience; (2) that abortion does not leave a mother scarred for life; and (3) that accepting the practice of unlimited, unfettered abortion will not lead to the Nazi style practice of Eugenics (as recently advocated by some researchers in the US).
These are all arguments that can be refuted publicly without the need for breaking the law.
A focus on convincing the large middle ground comprised those who “go along” with “the right to choose”, is the better battleground to choose rather than those of Mr Preston, no matter how much we may admire him or feel for his situation. Battles within the law using wise strategies are usually much more effective than guerrilla tactics.
John Galanos
Thanks John
Historically Christians have usually believed that in some extreme cases civil disobedience (obeying God rather than man) is morally legitimate and necessary. The abortion holocaust may well be one such instance when this is acceptable. It involves disobedience, along with being willing to accept the consequences of such disobedience. But I discuss this more fully in these two articles;
https://billmuehlenberg.com/2008/11/02/christians-and-civil-disobedience/
https://billmuehlenberg.com/2009/05/06/abortion-and-civil-disobedience/
Moreover, I am not sure peaceful protests outside of abortion clinics, and the like, are to be seen as “guerrilla tactics”.
Bill Muehlenberg, CultureWatch
John, the plain truth is that this man has courage and love that few of us can aspire to. It is this kind of selflessness that contrasts glaringly with unadulterated evil.
It was only when Jesus Christ was hanging on the cross that the centurion “glorified God, saying Certainly this was righteous man” (Luke 24:47). Are you saying that Jesus’ action was fanatic and that His action was one of simply seeking attention?
Let us not try to take anything away from this man. What courage. What love and what evil he shines the light on.
David Skinner, UK
Bill,
Appreciate and always respect your comments Bill.
Let me be very clear, I am opposed to the termination of unborn human life except for a few very narrow reasons such as saving the mother’s life.
However, if the same energy that goes into the conduct of vigils outside clinics and the harassment of their staff, went into a more focused public campaign to sway the bulk of the voters and our representatives with strong arguments of fact (which are there) then I believe much more could be accomplished.
Simple things like cutting off the public money supply to such practices alone would reduce the number of abortions. But this first requires the swaying of the voters and the legislators. I do not accept that Mr Preston’s tactics will achieve this.
What has happened to Mr Preston may well be unconscionable but public servants are not likely to not apply the law regardless of whether they agree with him or not.
The target should be to change the law, and it’s better to white ant it rather than seek to tear it down in one go.
We need to learn a lesson from the Pink Lobby who has white-anting of laws down to a fine art.
Hope to meet up with you again sometime Bill.
Cheers,
John Galanos
Ewan, it’s not a ‘baby’ unless the mother wishes it. Too bad also if the father wants the child, it’s the mother’s choice, and apparently we have no right to make her feel bad about it.
We don’t know why a woman makes the decision to abort, only that she chooses and that’s that.
My friend is a born again, although is not actively participating in any faith community. I think that is their problem; Friend has nobody to help keep them on the path.
Apologies for the clumsy, non-gendered phrasing, but I usually comment at most sites under a psuedonym, and I prefer not to give clues to who I discuss or break confidence.
Debra Franklin
Thanks John
Admittedly pro-lifers can and do differ as to various tactics, strategies, and what is the best way to end abortion. Such differences will likely always exist. I guess my take on this case is that Graham is doing something, and that is far more than most other pro-lifers are doing.
Perhaps his case will slowly but surely resonate in society at large, just as some radical moves by the abolitionists helped to sway public opinion and eventually shift public opinion. They too were criticised by many, but God could use them in that important battle.
I must say that I cannot really fault him. While various sorts of actions and activities will be needed to end this evil, he is one man actually standing up for his convictions. So many of us just discuss them.
And yes, it would be good to catch up some time again.
Bill Muehlenberg, CultureWatch
God bless Graham Preston, a champion among men. May his reward be great when he comes up before his Maker. How about offering to send money to help his wife when the going gets tough?
Ian Brearley
Thanks guys
I would imagine that a family of nine with the main bread winner in prison would have lots of financial needs. If you would like to help out in any way you can, you can get in touch with Graham’s wife Liz. She offers the following contact details:
Phone for more information (07) 3892 5349
Email: contact@protect-life.info
Website: http://www.protect-life.info
Bill Muehlenberg, CultureWatch
Indeed Bill, many of you wrote to Edward Atkinson a crippled octogenarian who went into prison in Britain, precisely for the same reason as Graham. He was overwhelmed by the letters sent from Australia, encouraging and wishing him well.
Jesus Christ could have written all the letters under the sun, but only his action defeated evil. Criticising Graham is just a cover for our own cowardice.
David Skinner, UK
Hello John. Tell that to the women who have decided to keep their babies after speaking with our sidewalk counsellors in front of abortion clinics. It might not seem like much to you, but it means a lot to those women and babies saved, some of which may grow up and become the movers and shakers who finally end abortion by one of the many approaches needed in this battle…might even just be a humble soul without the intellect to put forth sophisticated arguments to “white ant” abortion but has two hands to put together in prayer.
Anna von Marburg
Hi John,
I too have struggled with the same kind of questions that you are asking. I have come to the conviction that there are limitless ways of acting and each of them reach different people. For this reason I have chosen never to criticize any one who does any thing in the cause of pro life. While some people hate graphic abortion signage – it does ‘shock’ some people into thinking and acting differently about abortion.
As far as going to abortion clinics, one assumption that many people make which is just plain incorrect is that by this stage the woman has weighed up her options, has spent time in talking to her friends and family etc and is making a rational and considered decision.
Unfortunately, this is most often far from the truth. Because our laws do not insist on a mandatory waiting period, or independent counselling or even a doctors referral, women are very often completely ignorant of their true options and make a hasty decision to abort based very often on anxiety, misinformation and the coercion of their friends and family network.
(Studies in the US say us that around 64% of women felt they were coerced into their abortions).
Some women may not have one single person in their lives, willing to support them if they choose to keep their baby.
That’s why sidewalk counselling at abortion clinics is so essential. For some, a sidewalk counsellor may be the first supportive person they talk too and the first person to offer them a real ‘choice’.
Annette Williams
A true hero, a man prepared to stand for his convictions and suffer the consequences, prepared to defend the helpless and most vulnerable in our society, the unborn. Where are the others? May God raise up more men like Graham Preston.
The argument that ‘It’s only when a baby can live on its own that it should be considered as a separate being’ is very slippery indeed, especially when you consider that in Jesus time, the Roman culture was that children were not considered to be ‘full people’, they only had ‘potential status’. Children were at the mercy of their fathers, who had a life or death hold over them.
Fred Merlo
I believe that many women who go to abortion mills do not want to abort their babies. They need someone to offer them help and support. What is apparent is these women having abortions never go in smiling most are crying and deeply distressed. I thank God for people like Graham there to protect the unborn and women from making the biggest mistake of their lives. One has to remember the woman is and will always be a mother, she will just be the mother of a dead baby that she has killed. All in the name of “My right, My body and My Choice”!
To those who criticise Graham’s tactics. I ask you have you had the courage to go to the abortion mills and witness the bloody carnage that goes on? Have you given help and supported women who are pregnant? If you haven’t you have no right to criticise. Why? Because if you have been to an abortion clinic you would be so convicted of what really goes on that you would get off your backside and do something about it.
Robyn Grace
Hello Bill,
I have sent this article to a school-teacher friend who is going to place a copy of it on the table (Teachers’ Common Room I assume) at his school.
He says that the article is excellent and that it should be sent to The Catholic Weekly. I will do as he has suggested to-day.
I can not find any reference to Mr. Preston been sent to prison in the Main Stream Media.
Donald Battaglini
Graham and Liz are truly Brave Hearts. God’s power and glory is revealed and fulfilled by acts such as theirs. Those who crossed Graham’s path, whether women at the abortion clinic, abortionists, nurses, cleaners, those who handcuffed him, those doing the paper work for his conviction or those who talked about him (and still are) over their tea break, or pondered his actions in their while driving home from work or in their beds, can never ever ever say to the One who sits on the white great white throne, on that day we must all face (Rev 20:11), “When did You ever tell me killing these little ones was wrong.” For He will simply say, “I sent my servant Graham and he told you, but you would not listen.”
Trevor Grace
Robyn,
The abortion issue is a very emotive one and can be as divisive amongst pro-lifers as it is between the pro-life and the pro-choice camps and that’s a real shame.
To that end, I’m not sure that the sentiments you expressed in your last paragraph are altogether helpful or warranted.
To summarise your view, what I hear you saying, and correct me if I’ve misinterpreted it, is “unless you’ve actually experienced it, you’ve no right to criticise it”. That might sound OK on the surface but when you look at where that view leads, one would have to say for example, that unmarried people have no right to speak out against wife beatings – they don’t know what it’s like to be married, they haven’t experienced the pressures. Unless I’ve owned slaves and had to deal with all that comes with that, I’ve no right to speak out against slavery, after all, what would I know, I haven’t experienced it.
It’s the same logical fallacy that is brought up by pro-choice people criticising men for defending the pro-life position. What right have they got to speak? They don’t get pregnant, they don’t experience it so they have no right to speak against abortion.
In fact by you saying “Have you given help and supported women who are pregnant? If you haven’t you have no right to criticise.”, you’ve taken a tactic right out of the pro-choice play book, only you are turning it around on those that support pro-life.
That’s disappointing.
This is a fall back position often used to avoid discussing what an abortion is. They argue that unless you are prepared to care for all the children who will be born and the mothers afterwards because they don’t get an abortion, you’ve no right to speak against abortion. Can you see the parallels?
Lastly, you seem to link doing something about abortion as being the kind of intervention that Mr Preston and his supporters are engaged in by accusing people who haven’t witnessed what goes on at abortion clinics as not getting off their backsides and doing something about it.
Really? Does that sound fair to you? Do you think direct intervention is the only way and everyone else engaged in the abortion debate are just sitting around on their backsides?
To change a culture that largely accepts abortion requires a number of methods working together to achieve a common goal. Respectful discussion of the various ways people try to change the culture are surely more conducive to achieving this goal.
Reflecting on previous articles Bill has written, the ambulances at the bottom of a cliff are akin to the side-walk counsellors, mobile information vans and peaceful protesting outside clinics (ie the last point of contact). Engaging in discussions at high schools, universities and debates is akin to building a fence at the top of the cliff (ie the earliest point of contact).
These analogies are not exactly the best, I realise, but are close enough to make the point that both ends of the spectrum are valuable and needed, as is everything in between.
David Gee
Response not good enough. Protest to Government needed. And no matter how people look at it, nor at what stage, abortion kills a living human being!!!
Elwyn Sheppard
Another great article Bill and thank you for leaving that line about Graham being one of Australia’s greatest heroes in because it is true. Someone contacted me to belittle Graham Preston for his actions suggesting he should obey the police and move on. This what I said to him.
Dear “Sir”
Thank you for your forthright opinion. I don’t know if you live in Queensland but thankfully it is still illegal to kill babies in Queensland. The police are breaking the law by not enforcing it while Graham Preston is engaged in peacefully trying to uphold a law that the police are happy to break. Have you not heard of the UN declaration of human rights which states that you and I and our children, born or yet to be born, have the “right to life?” Does anyone in this world have the right to take it away?
Would you protest if I was to stage a peaceful protest and sit down in the doorway of one of the killing centres into which you were to be carried to be euthanatized because your life was not deemed to be something of value? I doubt you would complain. If Graham has saved one child’s life it is all worth it.
Kind Regards
Warwick Marsh
It does not matter what side you are on re Graham i.e. for or against his actions. What we should all fear is that it is a crime to try and save a life that is totally innocent of committing any crime.
That is the first step to a totalitarian state where the State decides who should live and who should die which is what it has done by passing abortion law.
Roger Marks
Is this what the careful dissection of the secular from the sacred has brought us, the decision over the final destiny of a live human embryo put into the hands of fickle human opinion – “if the mother wants the baby it is safe, if she doesn’t, it is not” rather than resting safe and securely in the opinion of the One who made that life and desires it to live, no matter how disappointing that life may end up being to Him who made it. I wish secularists would dare to think logically about these things and understand that human life including theirs is not safer in human hands than it is under divine law where all life is equally valued and protected. This is what they have done by taking God and His right to rule out of the public place. How many have to die before we realize the error and muster the courage to pray and act according to our master’s wishes?
Many blessings
Ursula Bennett
Elwyn,
Everyone posting on this blog article agrees that an abortion kills a living human being.
What do you think should be done in the case of ectopic pregnancies?
For those not familiar with the term, here’s a guide:
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Ectopic_pregnancy
David Gee
I have to agree with Roger – it really is a totalitarian state where the State decides who lives and who dies – unfortunately this is happening in more ways than abortion. Some Doctors routinely with hold treatment from older patients as they consider that their lives are not worth saving. Personally, I applaud Mr Preston and also Mrs Preston who is supporting him so beautifully! They are an example to the world of true Christianity in action.
Joan Davidson
Warwick Marsh, yes, that is exactly the point: the way very nice Christians will tell you that we must obey the law. When you tell them that the authorities have fined someone who objects to abortion or homosexuality and shut down their business, sent them to prison, or worse, turned a blind eye when thugs have physically attacked them, they reply, “but they have broken the law.”
Who is breaking the law in these cases? It is the state that allows fanatic secularists and anarchists to drive a coach and horses through human rights legislation. We need don’t need yet more legislation, lobbying of parliament, or drumming up public opinion. All we need to do is to invoke the law that is already there but of which we are ignorant.
Watching, the first video below, I am minded of the fact that both Nazis and abortion mill operators harvest body parts for commercial parts. But how soon before abortionists replicate the other practice of the Nazis by experimenting on live “subjects,” by experimenting on unwanted living foetuses of up to 24 weeks old? Is it happening already?
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Evnx4oWle20
http://abortsa.com/?page_id=217
http://abortsa.com/
http://blogs.telegraph.co.uk/news/petermullen/100154064/we-have-a-duty-to-look-at-disturbing-pictures-of-aborted-foetuses/
David Skinner, UK
I do not believe that anyone has any doubt that neither the embryo nor the mother have any chance of living in the case of an ectopic pregnancy. This is maybe where faith can easily go over into irresponsibility. Though we should well believe that God can and does do miracles, without the expressed and witnessed intervention of God no ectopic pregnancy should be allowed to continue, for it will surely cost the life of both the mother and the baby. I guess once technology is able to save the life of that embryo either through implantation into the Uterus of the mother or through some kind of external incubation process, then as in all other situations all should be done to save both mother and baby. But I am only an amateur both in the field of ethics or medicine, maybe an expert can comment here. But I thought it an important enough question that should not be ignored.
Many blessings
Ursula Bennett
Thanks Ursula
This comes under the so-called ‘hard cases,’ dealing with the mother’s safety. Very few cases indeed come under this category. Obvious examples include an ectopic (tubal) pregnancy, or a cancerous uterus. In these cases probably both people would die if nothing was done. Thus action is taken to at least save the mother (often the baby is already dead, as in an ectopic pregnancy). So it is not really an abortion. The intention is to save the life of the mother. So I would not even classify this as a type of abortion (where the actual intent is to kill the child), but as a life saving procedure to protect the mother.
Bill Muehlenberg, CultureWatch
Ursula,
Thanks for taking the time to consider this difficult circumstance and respond with your thoughtful comments.
My point in raising it was simply out of what I took from the commenter to which it was addressed. Due to the emotional nature of the issue of abortion, before we go off protesting the government, I think it’s important to have considered all the issues surrounding abortion, semantics aside, as it at least demonstrates careful thought has gone into what it is you are protesting about.
As Bill has added to, there are rare circumstances where the health of the mother really is in jeopardy and abortion, or what term you think is more appropriate to call it in the circumstances, is a very real consideration. It would be nice if the world were always black and white and whilst we can argue effectively through discussion, lobbying, peaceful protesting etc… surrounding the central issue, we need to consider the grey as well.
I’m no expert in medical ethics either, but would think that where morals clash, we choose a course of action which achieves the highest moral good. As Christians who believe the grounding for our moral laws comes from the very nature of God, I believe we are in the best position to advocate for what the highest moral good might be.
David Gee
I agree with Bill, we must not be side tracked by allowing hard cases to be identified with what is going on here – industrial and global holocaust taking place within a few miles of each of our doorsteps, in a hospital or clinic near you; and this is why Graham is in prison; because he is a lone voice speaking up for the defenceless. This is no grey area but a red and bloody one.
David Skinner, UK
Love your line David:
“This is no grey area but a red and bloody one.”
Bill Muehlenberg, CultureWatch
David Skinner,
How do you see yourself being sidetracked?
Do you think being aware of a couple of rare circumstances is reason not to continue fighting to overturn abortion laws?
I’d be most surprised if you or anyone did. I certainly don’t. I think it better equips us in arguing for abortion to be abolished.
In case my position is not clear, I’m arguing for and fully supportive of abolishing abortion laws, save for the rare circumstances as they presently exist.
It is also my hope that the culture which accepts abortion so readily can one day be changed and it is to that end I’m doing what I can.
David Gee
May 12 is International Nurses Day.
Angela Schliebs