A rally was recently held at Parliament House in Canberra to raise awareness about the problem of abortion in Australia.
Organised by the Australian Christian Lobby, the rally included an eye-catching display created in honour of Australia’s aborted babies. The display comprised a huge cross made of knitted booties which was set up on the grounds of Parliament House, representing babies lost to abortion.
The 10,000 booties, including many which had been hand-knitted by Christians throughout Australia, were collected by members of the Australian Christian Lobby (ACL) especially for the display. The ACL’s Baby Booties Campaign was begun in 2023 as a way of bringing awareness to the issue of abortion and of influencing national laws with the hope of providing greater protection for the unborn.
According to the ACL press release,
“Before a single bootie was laid, we prayed. More than 1,000 of us gathered online across ten denominations, asking God to move on Monday. Then we watched Him do it. And then the media came. The Sunday Telegraph carried the story across Sydney. Radio stations from Cairns to Geelong told their listeners. Television cameras lined the lawns, and the newswires took it to local papers in every state. In two days: 169 media reports, reaching an estimated two million Australians.“
After the cross was dismantled, the baby booties were packed up to be sent to pregnancy resource centres across Australia.
Born alive after abortion
On the same morning as the cross was created, a bill known as the Human Rights (Children Born Alive Protection) Bill 2026 was introduced to federal parliament by Nationals MP Llew O’Brien. This bill seeks to ensure babies who survive abortions are given medical care instead of being left to die. The bill also seeks to recognise babies who survive an abortion as legal persons.
Commenting on the bill, Michelle Pearse of ACL said,
“Whatever your view on abortion, access, or a woman’s right to choose, this is about post-birth protections and babies having the same entitlement to medical care, pain relief or palliative care as a baby born prematurely. This is about legally recognising that each of these tiny humans is a person with human rights.”