Apostles for Life

Dark Day for Victoria

Shame on Our Members of Parliament

Reproduced with permission of Anne Lastman, VOA, 2008. from

Broken Branches Issue 66 Oct/Nov 2008

A n e w s l e t t e r o f Victims of Abortion

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Anne Lastman is the author of “Redeeming Grief – Abortion and its Pain”, is which she recounts her own personal journey and those of her many "girls". Anne has offered hope and healing to over a thousand individual men and women in her twelve years experience as a post abortion grief counsellor.

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Dear friends

I have delayed sending out this newsletter, in order to be able to bring to you the outcome of the debate and voting in our State of Victoria on whether to or not to decriminalize abortion.

It is a dark time for this State of Victoria especially following the passing of the Bill after the first reading and voting, in the lower house of parliament on September 12, 2008. This was the first stage in the decriminalisation of abortion thus removing it from the Crimes Act. Under this new proposal abortion is to be allowed to 24 weeks gestation without any questions asked, that is, no reason needs to be given and 24-40 weeks permitted with the signature of two doctors. We always bear in mind that all it requires is the signature of two abortionists and a baby up to birth is aborted.

I feel a great sadness and heaviness of heart in bringing you notice that the Bill was finally passed today, after its third reading (10/10/2008) by 23-17 votes in favour of the Bill with all the amendments defeated also.

The Bill was passed with a larger majority than we had anticipated, which obviously means that some members were deceitful to begin with. We are living in a dark moment in the history of Victoria as indeed for the country Australia and the world. Indeed I would suggest that we have returned to the paganism of ancient Rome where an infant in the womb and even early life survived at the mercy of its father. Today, perhaps it’s more sinister because it is the infant’s mother who has been given all rights and power to kill her child without fear of any retribution.

Imagine, the Government of a State of over 4,500,000 citizens legislating for the “murder” of its own infants in the womb, and its future citizens, and no repercussions will be felt!! You and I are protected by laws from being hurt, assaulted or killed, even accidentally, but a child in the womb (practically to 40 weeks) will have no protection at all.

Even the horrific partial birth abortion, that cruel procedure whereby an infant is pulled out feet first till only the head remains in the birth passage, and then the base of the skull is pierced with surgical scissors, the child’s brain is suctioned out and the birth completed with a dead child. Even this gruesome procedure is to be permitted and the amendment, to prohibit this was defeated.

Perhaps the Lord is saying that if we want to live without Him, then so be it. Lord have Mercy on all of us.

The devastating part of it is the number in favour of the Bill (23-17) is quite strong. That Ministers who profess their Catholicism and have their own children in catholic schools, can be permitted to call themselves a catholic after publicly supporting and voting for the Bill is beyond anything we can understand. His Grace the Archbishop of Melbourne, Archbishop Denis Hart, should now exercise his leadership and pastoral roles and publicly excommunicate them immediately and then proceed with the other threats he made to close Catholic hospitals and birthing facilities. Our very good and strong Archbishop needs to make his stance felt. So that it can be seen that he is serious.

That other so called Christians can avow that they are Christian and followers of Christ and that their beliefs do not conflict with these new cruel abortion laws is also difficult to fathom and a joke. Indeed there is a cabal of Judases within the camp and some even spineless and hidden until the last moment.

Closely scrutinising the Bill is an exercise in shock and disbelief. To 24 weeks no questions asked? To 40 weeks with the signature of two doctors (abortionists?) and it would be done.

Imagine this scenario, on one floor of a women’s hospital doctors and medical staff labour to save the life of a premature infant because its parents want it. This one is human, because it’s wanted, and on another floor an infant of the same gestational age is aborted because its mother/father doesn’t want it.

Imagine a government which removes from the human infant all its rights to protection against harm.

Now that this Bill has passed into law it will mean that a lobster has more rights. A dog has more rights. A rooster has more rights. A chicken cannot be made to suffer in the wrong pens, and has more rights; a kangaroo has more rights; a crocodile and animals have more rights, whilst an infant had all its rights removed and has had its life made available to predators.

Now that this bill has passed into law (awaiting signature) it means the possibility of bubble zones around abortion clinics so that women entering clinics cannot be offered help to keep their child. Pregnancy centres will have their hands somewhat tied they will have to offer abortion as an option. There will be an increase in abortion numbers. This absolutely because it is now lawful and when something is lawful, it is interpreted as “good.” There will also be no protection for the babies or mothers if life agencies/centres and life groups are not there to protect them or be advocate for them. Women and children will have lost all their protection and support under the law. Coercion will become a reality much more so than now. Because it’s lawful and therefore OK. Boyfriends, husbands, others can force a woman to have an abortion up to 40 weeks.

It has been a really difficult few weeks, I have spoken to so many new women whose own abortion memories were triggered by the media coverage of this debate, some are tabled at the back of the newsletter, and these I have taken on, whilst others have just needed a place to speak and someone to speak to. I remember I spoke to a young girl 20 years old for 2 ½ hours one day, I was totally exhausted, wiped out, but I couldn’t let her go because she sobbed so much. I sat and held her in my arms for the duration.

During the announcement that the Bill had passed the reading and was now a certainty, I was counselling one of my girls (Jenny) and I received a call from a friend who was keeping me informed and immediately I told Jenny the result, she burst into tears, as so did I. As I listened to the news on all channels on this day, I kept hearing the term “Black Friday,” this due to the financial market and its plunge lower than at any time in recent years … I would have said that “Black Friday” was more related to the passing of this Bill authored in hell.

Who and how they voted

FOR the new Bill: 23 Votes

Greg Barber (Greens), Candy Broad (Labor), Andrea Coote (Liberal). Kaye Darveniza (Labor). David Davis (Liberal). Phillip Davis (Lib). Khalil Eideh (Lab). Peter Hall (National). Colleen Hartland (Greens). Gavin Jennings (Labor). David Koch (Liberal). Shaun Leane (Labor). Wendy Lovell (Liberal). Justin Madden (Labor). Jenny Mikakos (labor), Martin Pakula (Labor), Sue Pennicuik (Greens), Jaala Pulford (Labor), Johan Scheffer (labor), Brian Tee (Labor), Gayle Tierney (Labor), Mathew Viney (Labor).

AGAINST the Bill : 17 Votes

Bruce Atkinson (Liberal), Richard Dalla Riva (Liberal), Damian Drum (Nationals), Nazih Elasmar (Labor), Bernie Finn (Liberal), Mathew Guy (Liberal), Peter Kavanagh (Dem Labor Party), Jan Kronberg (Liberals), John Lenders (Labor), Ed O’Donohue (Liberal), Donna Petrovich (Liberal), Inga Peulich (Liberal), Gordon Rich Phillips (Liberal), Bob Smith (Labor), Adem Somyurek (Labor), Theo Theophanous (Labor), John Vogels (Liberal).

Dear friends, it is a great tragedy and scandalous that five members of the Liberal party and several Nationals also voted for this Bill from hell. Friends I don’t usually get involved in politics but dear friends especially those who live here in Victoria please remember the names of these members who voted for the legalised death of infants, in fact infanticide, and when the next elections come please, please don’t forget. Please remember we cannot ask God to bless our families and land whilst there are rivers flowing with the blood of infants.

Please remember how the members voted and those who voted for life please support them and even write them a short note and thank them for the stand and those who voted for the culture of death, also remind them that they held a position of honor and respect which they have now bloodied with the blood of innocent infants. remind these that the next elections are not that far off.

If they can vote to kill innocent infants, I personally don’t want to respect them as speakers for me in Parliament or to have them represent me on matters of government. They are not honourable. I hope the same for you.

Shame on all the “Labor” members. They used to represent workers and family. Now they represent death.

Shame on Liberal members. And shame on the greens who care more for the old gum tree at the back of beyond than infants.

Please deal with them at the next election.

God Bless.

Anne Lastman

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@ Broken Branches – By email!

Dear Friends,

I am now able to email out Broken Branches to you in Adobe Acrobat format (.PDF). So if you would like to receive Broken Branches electronically, please email me at annevoa@bigpond.net.au with a request to be added to the email list.