A three-year campaign by abortion advocates to end pro-life vigils in rural Victoria may have finally reached its conclusion after the issue was referred to State Parliament.
The Helpers of God’s Precious Infants have held prayer vigils outside the Fertility Control Centre’s abortion clinic on Englehardt Street in Albury for the past 15 years.
Initially, the vigils were only for two hours once a fortnight, but since becoming a weekly activity in 2010, pro-choice activists have routinely attempted to stop the vigils through various means.
The battle between the two groups escalated again recently, with the abortion activists producing a petition to have the vigils banned.
The group held a public forum on February 11, although its convenor Dr Pieter Mourik said pro-lifers would not be welcome at the event.
About 70 people attended the forum in an attempt to have the local council change its by-laws to stop the weekly vigils.
But the Albury City Council declared the issue was not within its jurisdiction, stating in a press release that those seeking to ban the vigils needed to “table their petition with the State Government”.
“This is not a debate about personal opinions or beliefs, it’s a matter of law and in this circumstance the State Government is the most suitable authority for implementing and enforcing legislation,” Albury City Mayor Kevin Mack said.
“We support their right to petition. We support the right of anyone to participate in a peaceful protest, and we support the right for anyone to seek medical assistance free from harassment.
“This is a complex social issue that goes far beyond Albury and it’s important that groups work with the relevant tier of Government. In this case, it is the State Government.”
The Helpers also received support from the Bishop of Wagga Wagga Gerard Hanna who told The Border Mail the Helpers of God’s Precious Infants were not breaking any laws.
“It is still within the law in a peaceful and non-harassing way to be present and offer any person going there one final time to talk about their decision and understand what other options are available,” Bishop Hanna said.
Abortion activists have claimed the pro-life group has committed unlawful and intimidatory actions, but Bishop Hanna said he was unaware of such behaviour.
“They are serving a purpose, but they are not harassing anybody,” he said. “They are not blocking the way or blocking the carriage of people using the footpath.
“The council ranger has monitored them from time to time and where it was necessary to correct them he did so.”
Spokeswoman for the Helpers of God’s Precious Infants Peta Evans said she greatly appreciated the Bishop’s support.
“The Bishop has received our regular updates of the activities outside the clinic over the last three years since I started,” she said.
“He understands that what we do there is peaceful and loving. [His support] is validation of what we do and good for the Catholic community to hear when there are so many lies promoted through the media.”
Mrs Evans said the media had used “false allegations and emotive arguments” to “confuse the community”.
“The Helpers have always conducted themselves lawfully and do not harass, obstruct or abuse any person attending the clinic but, rather, offer practical assistance and emotional support to those facing real problems in their lives,” she said.
“The abortion clinic maintains full surveillance of their property and have never produced any evidence to support their spurious claims.”
Mrs Evans also confirmed that the Helpers will form a counter petition requesting the right to lawfully protest be protected and upheld.