Melbourne, Australia, Oct 14, 2008 / 01:07 am
Archbishop of Melbourne Denis Hart on Saturday decried the passage of the Abortion Law Reform Bill 2008 in the state of Victoria as “a betrayal of our shared humanity, a betrayal of women, a betrayal of the innocent unborn child that we would ease the way to the destruction of 20,000 unborn children annually.”
The bill, which removes abortion from the Crimes Act, was passed on Friday in Victoria’s Upper House 23 to 17, with all amendments to the bill being rejected.
“For the time being the battle is lost in the legislature. But not in the hearts and minds of good people,” the archbishop said in reaction to the bill’s passage. He described himself and others in the community as people “filled with a profound sadness and anguish” because the parliament has legalized the destruction of children “up to the moment of birth.”
Saying that our shared humanity “demands that we assist mothers with an unwanted pregnancy to enable them to carry their child to term,” he said the Church and “all people of goodwill” will redouble their efforts “to foster and promote a culture that is pro-life; one that defends and supports women in their inspiring role of motherhood.”