September 2024
Volume 39, Issue 2
Life News
Promotingthesanctityoflife
Welcome
Grace and peace to you from God our Father and the Lord, Jesus Christ! In this issue, we have a piece written in response to a journal article claiming that pregnancy is a disease, a write up on loving and living with disabled siblings, a summary of the Right to Life Association of WA, and other life related pieces. As always, I pray you find this edition encouraging and edifying.
JosephTheodorsen-Chair,LutheransforLife.
“Pregnancy
is a Disease”: the Consequences of Denying Teleology
EmmaWood
Just this year, a distinguished bioethics journal, The Journal of Medical Ethics published an article with the title: “Is Pregnancy a Disease? A Normative Approach.”1
Insidethisissue
Welcome................................................1
“Pregnancy is a disease”....................1
Loving and living with disabled siblings...................................................5
Life News Snippets.............................8
Right to Life Association of Western Australia.........................................9
Thank you!...........................................10
LFL across the seas............................11
LifeNewsis the newsletter of Lutherans for Life Est. in 1987
Sponsored by the Lutheran Church of Australia.
Example of the Journal of Medical Ethics’ publica on
The two authors of the article, Anna Smadjor and Joona Rasanen answered this question in the affirmative. Having followed the academic abortion debate for years, I don’t often get shocked by things I read in bioethics journals, but this occasion was an exception. The claim that pregnancy is a disease is no longer just a claim thoughtlessly made by placard holders or keyboard warriors who haven’t thought through the implications of such a statement. The idea that pregnancy is a disease is now being seriously argued by academics with considerable understanding of biology.
1.AnnaSmadjor&JoonaRasanen,J.IsPregnancyaDisease?ANormativeApproach.JournalofMedicalEthics.2024;0:1-8. doi:10.1136/jme-2023-109651, accessibleat:https://jme.bmj.com/content/early/2024/01/28/jme-2023-109651?rss=1
Print Post Approved Periodical No, PP442570/0006 ISSN 1033-7725
EDITOR: Vacant LN.editor@gmail.com
To be absolutely clear: these authors are not merely arguing that complications during pregnancy are pathological. On this, all reasonable people can agree. The instance of ectopic pregnancy: a life-threatening complication in which the embryo attaches to the fallopian tube rather than the uterine lining, is one example of a condition that is undoubtedly pathological, and certainly akin to a disease. No - what these authors argue is that ordinary pregnancy itself – the means by which human life is handed on from one generation to the next – can be reasonably viewed as a disease, a pathology.
The thesis that pregnancy is a disease is a symptom (pardon the pun) of the materialist assumptions that pervade academia. Materialism – the philosophical position that the only thing that really exists is the matter, or the smallest component parts of matter that make up the physical universe – is academic orthodoxy, but, as Christian apologists have long been arguing, this worldview is far less plausible than indoctrinated undergraduates are allowed to think. That leading academics are now arguing that pregnancy is a disease is a window not only into the consequences of a materialist outlook on the world, but also into the inadequacy of materialism for explaining the most ordinary things of life, including what counts as a disease and what does not.
‘The thesis that pregnancy is a disease is a symptom (pardon the pun) of the materialist assump ons that pervade academia.’
This becomes clear as Smadjor and Rasanen’s paper unfolds. In order to make a conclusive case that pregnancy is a disease, one has to give a plausible definition of what a disease is – an account of the necessary and sufficient features shared by all diseases – and show that pregnancy possesses these features. Smadjor and Rasanen, at the outset of their article, confess that they do not achieve this conclusive goal. Defining “disease” adequately is something these authors have
a most difficult time doing. In their paper, they downplay the significance of this by arguing that no-one yet has managed to successfully define “disease”:
“What counts as a disease is a recurring question in philosophy of medicine. Experts disagree about the criteria by which we can distinguish diseases from other phenomena. Some believe that diseases can be defined with reference to some objective truth, others that the term is purely or partly socially constructed. Whichever view one takes, it is difficult to find a theory that accommodates all those conditions we take, intuitively, to be diseases, while excluding all those that, intuitively, we do not.”2
In other words, even if we cannot conclude decisively that pregnancy is a disease, the idea is still a reasonable one to entertain. This is because the best available contenders for a definition of “disease” available to us entail that pregnancy is a disease. It makes for entertaining reading surveying the definitions of “disease” these authors consider to be the best available to us…
One possible defining feature that all diseases have in common, the authors argue, is that they are experiences that are bad for those who have them. What does “bad for” mean? One way of understanding what it means for an experience to be “bad for” someone is to say that it causes physical discomfort, displeasure, or pain. Pregnancies can be difficult and painful – so, according to this possible definition of disease, pregnancy counts as a disease. This is an obviously unsatisfactory definition of disease: according to such a definition, physical exercise could also be viewed as a disease.
Another possible way of understanding an experience as “bad for” someone is its being, for whatever reason, not valued by, or unwanted by, the person to whom it happens. Under this reasoning, unwanted pregnancies are diseases, and wanted pregnancies are not –whether pregnancy is a disease, under this definition, varies case to case according to subjective valuation.
This too, of course, is an unsatisfactory definition. According to such a definition, an appendectomy performed on a young child who resents the fact that they need the operation could be considered a disease. Similarly, as the authors themselves note, many people find value in the fortitude and gratitude for life that comes from having experienced conditions that we would, without question, describe as diseases, such as cancer. Subjective valuation, then, does not appear to be a very promising means to defining “disease”.
Subjec ve valua on, then, does not appear to be a very promising means to defining disease”.’
Another candidate definition of “disease” is that it is a condition that can be treated medically. Pregnancy, indeed, can be “treated” medically – either through medical assistance during birth, through abortion, or through treatment of symptoms during pregnancy. Under this definition, pregnancy can be classed as a disease, but this definition, too, is unsatisfactory. A woman who is unhappy with the size of her breasts has a “condition” that can be treated medically: a plastic surgeon can provide her with implants. But having smaller breasts than one would like is not a disease.
The way the authors talk about pregnancy in their opening paragraph is suggestive of another way to define “disease” – as an experience that is accompanied by physical or physiological symptoms that are unusual or out of the ordinary:
“Imagine a patient who visits the doctor having an abdominal mass that is increasing in size, causing pain, vomiting and displacement of other internal organs. Tests are booked, and investigations are planned. But when the patient mentions that she has missed her period, these alarming symptoms suddenly become trivial. She is pregnant! No disease, nothing to worry about. But is this the right way to think about things?”3
Diseases bring with themselves unusual or out-of-the ordinary physical symptoms. So does pregnancy. Ergo, pregnancy is a disease. This definition, too, is unsatisfactory. The few times in my life I got up on stage to sing a solo in a musical, strange things happened to my body before I stepped out under the spotlights. I started sweating. My heart race increased. My hands shook. My knees wobbled. My stomach turned. Unusual symptoms for sure! Thankfully, I did not have a disease. My body was simply preparing me for something I do not usually do.
Smadjor and Rasanen essentially hope to show that it is reasonable to view pregnancy as a disease by arguing that pregnancy meets the conditions of
Lutherans for Life Branches
New Zealand: Est. June 1991
Contact: Dr Petrus Simons 04 476 9398
Sunshine Coast: Est. August 1992
ServingtheSunshineCoastareaof Queensland
Contact: Mr Norm Auricht 07 5443 6849
Darling Downs: Est. October 2005
ServingtheDarlingDownsareaof Queensland
Contact: Mrs Joy Wurst 07 4613 4189
Check out our website www.lutheransforlife.lca.org.au
Follow us on Facebook www facebook.com/ lutheransforlifeaustralia
Contact us (email) lutheransforlife@lca.org.au
Life News Editor (email) LN.editor@gmail.com
Support Lutherans for Life
Consider making a financial gift to continue the promotion and protection of human dignity in our culture and community (see back page for details).
many, and not just one, obviously wrong definition of “disease”. Needless to say, this is not a very satisfying argument. Several bad definitions of “disease” – even several bad definitions all taken together – do not add up to a good definition of “disease”. Unless we have a far more compelling possible definition available as to what counts as a disease and what does not, one cannot make any claims about whether pregnancy does, or does not, count.
There is no dysfunc on involved when a uterus performs its natural func on of gesta ng new life.’
As it happens, there is a plausible definition of “disease” available to us which avoids the obvious problems inherent in the other definitions, and it is a definition of “disease” that the human race has implicitly understood for millennia. This is the idea that a disease (or more broadly, any pathology) involves some dysfunction on the part of the body, or a bodily system. This definition accords with what has, traditionally, been seen to be the purpose of the art of medicine: to restore the natural functions of the body to working order.
This definition of disease as bodily dysfunction does look very much like a good candidate definition that ‘accommodates all those conditions we take, intuitively, to be diseases, while excluding those we do not.’ Defining disease as dysfunction enables one to say that exercise does not count as a disease even though it is painful – for exercise generally enhances, rather than undermines, the function of the body’s organs. It enables one to say that the appendicitis, not the appendectomy, is the disease inflicting the reluctant child, even if the child subjectively thinks otherwise. It allows one to say that, even though some unwanted conditions (like measles) are diseases, others (like having smaller-than-average breasts) are not. It allows one to say that cancer is a disease, even if cancer sufferers find long-term value in the experience of cancer. It enables one to say that the unusual heart activity
that precedes a solo on stage is not symptomatic of a disease, but that the unusual heart activity that precedes a heart attack is. It enables one to say that ectopic pregnancies are pathological, but that pregnancy itself is absolutely not. There is no dysfunction involved when a uterus performs its natural function of gestating new life.
Why, given the explanatory power and intuitive appeal of the definition of disease as dysfunction, do Smadjor and Rasanen dismiss it, treating it only briefly? The reason, in short, is that embracing the dysfunction account of disease requires one to give up on materialism. The notion that body parts have functions is ultimately an Aristotelian idea, according to which nature, and entities within the natural world, exhibit teleology or purposeful behaviour. Not necessarily conscious purposeful behaviour, but purposeful behaviour nonetheless. The notion that there are objective purposes or functions to bodily organs implies the existence of objective normative facts in the world – facts about the ways in which organs should behave. Such normative facts about the ways that organs should behave give us grounds for making basic evaluations of bodily organs such as “healthy” or “unhealthy”, “good” or “bad”. A human heart, for instance is a “good” heart if it fulfills its function of pumping blood, “bad” insofar as it fails. But if the human heart is as the materialist sees it – just a clump of cells, arbitrarily grouped together under one word by human language, without an objective purpose written into its very nature – then there can be no sense in evaluating a heart as good or bad. All we can do is settle for a subjectivist account and say that the clumps of cells we call “hearts” are good insofar as a person values what their heart does, bad insofar as a person does not value this. And this way of seeing things, of course, entails the implausible definition of “disease” as a subjective condition. Aristotelian teleology, and normative facts in the world, thus, are indispensable to basic biological concepts such as health and disease. But they do not fit into a materialist picture of the world.
The notion that organs have purposes is also suggestive of the existence of a designer behind the universe. This was not an argument Aristotle made himself, but the idea was later picked up by popularisers of Aristotle in the Middle Ages, and particularly by Thomas Aquinas. The eagerness to avoid the dysfunction account of disease – at the expense of rejecting the most plausible definition of “disease” there is – is a testament to just how far academics will go to close the door to the existence of God.
The entry, into bioethics debate, of the proposition that pregnancy is a disease is another lesson in the truth that ideas have consequences. The rejection of Aristotelianism that began centuries ago (for which the Protestant Reformation, we must humbly acknowledge, was partially responsible) has led to some truly bizarre consequences in the world of ideas. The consequences are not only bizarre, but nihilistic. If the way in which humans reproduce is a disease, then what does this say about humans?
EmmaWoodisaSydney-basedpro-lifephilosopher.Shehaspublishedacademicworkinthe ethicsofabortion,haslecturedinpoliticalphilosophyatCampionCollege,Sydney,isaResearchFellowwithWomen'sForumAustralia, andregularlyspeakstoschools,churches,and theLachlanMacquarieInstituteaboutabortion andtheissuessurroundingit.
Loving and living with disabled siblings
RubyModra
People are often asking me, ‘What is it like to have siblings with disabilities? How has my life been different to those of others?’
I suppose it has been rather different and unusual, but it is perfectly regular to me. I’ve always had Johan, my brother, with severe intellectual and minor physical disabilities since he is older than me. I guess ‘normal’
kids don’t have to take their big brother to the toilet, stop him from eating hand sanitiser, or hold his hand so he doesn’t get run over by a car. These are all irregular things for most people, but it's been ingrained in my brain.
Here are some more things that I am used to because of my brother’s needs.
The hold music for the NDIS. The knock of the postman delivering seven boxes of adult-sized nappies. Sleepovers at friend’s houses when Johan had an operation in Melbourne. The best hugs anyone could give. Laughing with Johan at his favourite movies, and knowing them off by heart. Broken government systems and people trying to help. End of year Special School Christmas Performances. Hospitals and waiting rooms, speech therapists and physiotherapists. Doing all the kids' chores.
Appointment after appointment, and I know Mum and Dad try to have enough time for me. But who can say what is enough time? I know they love me, but it always felt as though I was not the first priority in the family hierarchy.
What If?
The thing that makes me most sad is “What if?” What if Johan was born differently? Would my lonely younger years have been filled with little siblings to quarrel with, to run around the churchyard with, to love, and to have the normal sibling experience?
‘Rules’ is a book by Cynthia Lord about a girl, Catherine, whose brother David has autism. This book has been on my shelf for years, and this quote never fails to make me cry: “Sometimes I wish someone would invent a pill so David’d wake up one morning without autism, like someone waking from a long coma, and he’d say, “Jeez, Catherine, where have I been?”
The ‘what if’ way of thinking has only ever made people sadder and more frustrated. It leads to the idea that “If only this had happened, then my life
would be perfect.” What an outright lie! The world is, by nature, sinful. No matter what alternate universe theory we have, the truth of the matter is that God has put me in this life, body, and universe, and there is nothing I can do to change that.
Jesus says to love one another. Loving your neighbour as yourself is at the heart of Christian living. Who are my closest neighbours? My parents, whom I am commanded to honour and cherish. But also my brothers, whether they have special needs or not. I still have to love and serve them.
Living with disabled siblings is difficult. It is part of my hardship story. But I have to love them, I really have no choice. I’ve had to learn to be grateful for what God has given me. I am not perfect, and I’m always grumbling like the Israelites in the wilderness. Yet, contentment is something to fight for. I am grateful for my life and for God’s gifts. I am grateful for the cheeky blond baby I get to make laugh every morning and the little grinning boy in my memory who will soon be 18. They are broken in the world’s eyes, but the Lord made them. They are fearfully and wonderfully made.
Fearfully and wonderfully made
Loving disabled people is difficult. All the practical things get in the way. Why would you love someone who takes up so much of your precious time just going to the bathroom? I’ve found the more you get to know special needs kids, the happier they make you. Kids with Downs Syndrome are some of the smiliest I’ve ever met. It honestly breaks my heart to hear the abortion statistics around disabled children. Over 90% of babies found to have Downs Syndrome are aborted because of in-utero genetic testing.
When Mum found out about Ezra, they were offered a whole lot of testing because of Johan’s condition. The doctors made it seem as though if Baby had a defect, they wouldn’t want it.
I think back on all the good things about having brothers with special needs. Every smile, every hug, every time Johan and I enjoyed being together. Every time Ezra’s eyes light up when I walk into a room. All the times Johan has gone looking for me when I am away. And I think, ‘How could someone want to kill a baby like Joh?’ Now, I am only young, and may not understand every nuance of pregnancy yet. But I do know this from my own experience: Johan and Ezra are in no way less deserving of love than I. They are no lesser beings. They are created in the image of God. God made them so unique, they are the only two in the world with their specific genetic condition!
‘For you formed my inward parts; you kni ed me together in my mother's womb. I praise you, for I am fearfully and wonderfully made. Wonderful are your works; my soul knows it very well. Psalm 139:13 14a
The question most asked when you learn your child is disabled is, “How will we cope?” Not “How can we change to best love this child?” or “How can we care for our baby?” but how will I be able to deal with another child who has so many additional needs? This thinking might be selfish, but it is the reality of many expecting parents.
Fellow Christians, pray for pregnant women who face the unknown. Pray for those who have disabled children. We cannot view disabled children as burdens. They are blessings from above as much as the next able-bodied baby.
‘Behold, children are a heritage from the Lord, the fruit of the womb a reward.
Psalm 127:3
Finding comfort in God’s promises
When I worry about Johan’s salvation, I think about what the Bible says about baptism. All three Modra kids have been saved through the waters of Holy Baptism. For “Whoever believes and is baptised will be saved,
but whoever does not believe will be condemned”Mark 16:16. Now comes the doubt, the question of faith.
Johan has always been happy in church. Perhaps it is the routine, seeing people he loves, or maybe the knowledge that he is in the presence of our Maker that fills him with smiles on a Sunday morning. These facts have done little to stop the doubt, the small voice that says, “What if Joh is going to hell?” - the little voice that brings tears to my eyes. I found comfort in a rap song, of all things. FLAME, the Christian rapper, says in his song, ‘Mark Them’: “Babies can definitely have faith, Man it's all over the Psalms; Psalms 22, Psalms 71, Trusted in God while he's nursing on moms.”
If a baby can have faith, then a boy with the estimated intellect of an 18-month-old can have faith. I can find comfort in this and trust that my brothers have been granted forgiveness of sins, rescued from death and the devil, and given eternal salvation.
Finally, I find comfort in the Lord. Think of all the great things He has done for you, for me! From knitting me together in my mother’s womb, blessing me with a loving family, being baptised in His name most holy, receiving catechesis and communion, the availability of His Word, my daily bread, the forgiveness of
my sins, and taking me to be with Him in heaven when my time on this Earth is over. Hymns and songs of praise are here to remind us of God’s promises.
How you can help:
LHS 335 Just as I am, without one plea, Verse 4:
Just as I am, poor, wretched, blind; Sight, riches, healing of the mind, Yea, all I need, in Thee to find, O Lamb of God, I come. Lyrics C. Elliot, 1836
These hymns remind me that God will never forsake me. His steadfast love endures forever. Jesus healed the blind, deaf, and lame. He has also saved my brothers. There is true comfort in knowing that they will be with me and Him in heaven.
Thank you for reading my story. I wish you all true joy and peace in God the Father, Son and Holy Ghost.
RubyModraisa16-year-oldlivinginBurnie,Tasmania.SheenjoysChristianfellowship,hymns,embroidery, and creating her Lutheran podcast for children,ReadyforChurchPodcast.
Hearmoreabouthermum’sstoryraisingJohan, andnowEzra,ontheHereSheStandsPodcast. ‘Tara’sstory:Raisingchildrenwithsevere disabilities.’availableat: https://hereshestandspodcast.alitu.com/
Are you a Pastor or Chairperson of your congregation?
Do you work or volunteer in the church office?
Are you a passionate supporter of LfL?
Then we need YOU to help raise the profile of LfL!
· Volunteer to photocopy Life News and distribute it to your congregation.
· Attach Life News to the weekly email that goes out to congregation members.
· Forward your copy (if you subscribe via email) to someone else.
· Follow our Facebook page and share our posts!
Life News Snippets
Reproductive technologies
In recent times there have been numerous news items highlighting the complexities and concerning realities associated with IVF (invitro fertilisation) and family formation. Most troubling of the news from around the world related to IVF and non-traditional procreation is the emergence of evidence of rogue sperm donors selling their sperm in large quantities all over the world and creating huge networks of related children. The Netflix show “The man with 1000 babies” highlights how the desperate desire for having children is shockingly and intentionally exploited by one particular sperm donor.
Numerous other stories highlight the tension and conflict between the interests of the commissioning couple and the rights of the child with regard to sperm donation in Australia.
In June the largest US protestant denomination, Southern Baptist Church, condemned the use of IVF saying that the process routinely creates more embryos than can be implanted, and that leads to the destruction of hundreds of thousands of frozen embryos, which the church considers human life. Reuters,12June 2024
In an article about international surrogacy, Julie Bindel reported that the global market – already worth almost $18 billion (£14 billion) – is projected to rise to $129bn by 2032, according to the research firm Global Market Insights, with anywhere between 5,000 and 20,000 babies incubated to order annually. One important question posed in the article is to what extent, for example, is the lack of regulation around surrogacy driving impoverished women into unsafe and unconsented arrangements. The TelegraphUK,13August2024
The government in Victoria, Australia, is paying for a campaign to increase the number of egg and sperm
donors, despite the ongoing controversy surrounding the unchecked fertility industry. The Age reported people have stopped donating as often after legal changes in 2017 gave donor-conceived people the ability to find out who their biological parents are once they turn 18. Yet multiple people have found that the fertility industry is completely unchecked, with multiple couples discovering that their sperm donors could have fathered thousands of children. Often, these parents were not told ahead of time how often the donors had given sperm or how many times a donor’s sperm had been used. LiveAction,May192024
According to the ABC, Australian IVF giant Genea has blocked families' fight for answers after the fertility clinic destroyed large numbers of embryos due to contamination from bacteria ABCNews,25June2024
Major IVF company accused of using 'wrong sperm' to create children and failing to warn of donor's potential genetic issues. 'We got the wrong sperm': Anastasia and Lexie are living an IVF nightmare. The couple alleges that the clinic won't take responsibility. ABCNews, 24June2024
Abortion
A woman twice arrested for silently praying outside an abortion clinic in the UK has received a 13,000 pound payout and an apology from the police in acknowledgement of her wrongful treatment. RighttoLifeUK, 19August2024
Adelaide law professor and mother of 5, Dr Joanna Howe, has in recent times been openly and publicly investigating abortion and campaigning and educating widely in this area. Her activities led to numerous complaints against her to her employer The University of Adelaide. In the space of 4 ½ years 6 separate investigations were launched. Dr Howe applied to the Fair Work Commission in June and lodged a stop bullying application against the university with the industrial umpire and sought the removal of the corrective actions imposed on her. With legal costs amounting to
near $100,000 she won her case in a victory for academic freedom. TheAustralian,10August2024
Euthanasia
A Queensland coroner has criticised the state's voluntary assisted dying laws after an elderly man took his own life using drugs prescribed for his wife after she was administered a different VAD drug in hospital. ABCNews,11September2024
Well known international movie director Almodovar has made a pro-euthanasia film starring famous actors. “This movie is in favour of euthanasia,” said Almodóvar, 74, at a press conference at the Venice film festival. “It is something we admire about the character of Tilda, she decides that getting rid of cancer can only be done by making the decision she actually makes.”
TheGuardian,02September2024
In British Columbia, faced with growing waiting lists and corrosive healthcare bureaucracy, there have been reports of a number of cancer patients forced to resort to MAID. For instance, a 67-year-old grandmother in Victoria, chose to end her life that way after waiting more than 10 weeks to see a specialist.
Euthanasia campaigners often reject claims that reform leads to a “slippery slope”, although numbers keep rising and criteria have been expanded in nations that led the way. In the Netherlands which in 2002 pioneered assisted dying for patients it accounts now for one in 20 fatalities, with 58 couples dying together last year and the rules extended to include terminally ill children.
Canada has also seen MAID cases soar each year.
In 2021, the central rule that natural death had to be “reasonably foreseeable” was removed. Latest figures disclosed that 13,102 people ended their lives under the scheme in 2022, a rise of 30% over the previous year despite postponement until 2027 of the controversial expansion to people with chronic mental illness. The country is catching up fast on Holland’s rate with
4.1% of deaths aided by doctors. Its annual MAID report also revealed that more than one-third of those choosing to die felt themselves a burden on family, friends or caregivers. UnHerd,30May2024
Assessment of 2 sets of government data reveal that Canada’s MAID is the 5th-leading cause of death in the country. Reasons for petitions for use of the program included diabetes and vision and hearing loss. 44,958 people have been put to death between 2016-22.
A man, Roger Foley, who suffers from a degenerative neurological disorder and has had many health challenges, observed that at his lowest ebb health professionals began to float the idea of euthanasia. “I deal with a lot of pain every day,” he says, “but you can’t give up at the point of the problem- you’re still of value, your life has value.” WallStreetJournal,02September2024
Right to Life Association of Western Australia
‘Defending life from conception to natural deathformorethanfifty years’
The Right to Life Association of WA (RTLAWA) was formed in the 1970s in Karratha by Peter O’Meara. Originally from Victoria, Peter was a union shop steward in the early days of Pilbara mining. He was also very concerned about the attacks on life, particularly abortion and Euthanasia, that it could be argued were already commonplace in WA (albeit still illegal), at the time.
The RTLAWA moved to Perth and was incorporated in 1979, with similar associations forming in every state in Australia around the same time. Today, we have around 1700 members across the state. We keep in touch using email, social media, text, post, and in person.
One of our aims is to bring all Chris an, Pro Life people together to work in the defence of Life.’
We are unashamedly Christian and do our work in order to advance Christ’s kingdom on Earth. The RTLAWA work to promote and maintain the rights of the unborn as legal persons.
We support palliative care that does not hasten the death of people who are terminally ill, and we stand against any other attacks on life, such as those currently being suggested for the physically and mentally challenged.
We have many programmes designed to advance our objectives. For example, we provide food and care packs for women living on the streets who often find themselves compromised sexually. We communicate with politicians and the community, urging support for the social, health and public welfare of any individual affected by a pregnancy – mothers, fathers, siblings and the unborn. We also organise public awareness campaigns, including film nights, public walks, rallies at Parliament House, and media articles and newsletters.
Our target is both Christians who are pro-life, and also members of the secular world.
Christians often need to be encouraged in the prolife fight, so we help by installing plaques in Christian churches and other places, offering talks, and holding dinners. We also organise donations of food, clothing, and baby furniture to new Mums in need.
For many years we held peaceful, loving, prayer vigils outside the two main abortion clinics in Perth, but today that has been outlawed under the so-called ‘bubble law,’ so we host a prayer vigil at Parliament House every year instead. Our aim here, as with all our activities, is to change the hearts and minds of people. We want people to choose life, the first gift from God.
Our brave members also participate in public walks aimed at getting the Christian pro-life message out to the secular world. Reaction to these walks, as you might expect, is mixed.
The RTLAWA also supports abortion grief counsellors to help (mostly) mothers who have had abortions deal with their grief and guilt and seeking forgiveness from the Lord. This work can be very challenging for counsellors, especially as the link between multiple abortions and the mother’s experience of sexual abuse as a child is undeniable. We also work with Aboriginal people for whom motherhood and respect of the aged is so important.
We are developing a Euthanasia Prevention Kit which is intended to leave medical staff in no doubt as to the pro-life stance of the wearer. Our Association supports any pro-life Christian candidate for State and Federal Parliament, and we are supporters and participants in the Families for Life expo here in Perth.
One of our aims is to bring all Christian, Pro-Life people together to work in the defence of Life. To that end we are members of the International Right to Life Federation and 40 Days for Life. Our office is currently working with our Queensland and ACT counterparts to form a pro-Life Federation of Australia.
TheRighttoLifeAssociationofWAisalwaysin needofvolunteers,donationsandofcourse, money! If you would liketo help in any of thesewayspleasegiveSteveKlompacallon 0417184789,oremailsteve@righttolifewa.co. You can also visit our website at www.righttolifewa.co.
PleasenotethatwhilstweatLutheransforLife wanttoshareinformationfromorganisations thatworktowardspromotingandsupporting thevalueofeveryhumanlife,wedonotnecessarilyagreewithallthethoughtsandopinionsthatmaybeexpressed..
Thank you, ALCRA!
The Australian Lutheran College Residents’ Association (ALCRA) has elected to donate their remaining funds upon closure of their account to Lutherans for Life Australia. We are very grateful for this generous financial support, and say a big ‘Thank you!’
As ALCRA was originally established to encourage and support those living in the community at the Australian Lutheran College, and as they have moved toward an online based mode of studies, the purpose for these funds in that locale has ceased.
LFL across the seas
Last July, committee members Rose Graham and Hayley Simons had the privilege of attending a series of conferences in the USA, with one of them being Higher Things, a youth focused conference. While here, we were able to meet and chat with Y4Life, from the American branch of Lutherans for Life.
Lutherans for Life America structures their organisation a little differently to how we do things here in Australia. They have the main branch of LFL that focuses on education and resources to support life worthy causes all over America. As well as a youth branch, Y4Life, that is focuses more specifically towards educating and encouraging youth and young adults.
LFL America states their mission as: “Equipping Lutherans and their neighbors to be gospel motivated voices for life”. You could see the confidence of the team in their understanding that through Christ, Life is sacred and to be cherished. They share this message widely throughout different areas of youth work, setting up teams on university campuses and conducting education in schools.
As part of this the Y4Life team held a stall at the Higher Things conference where they spent time talking all things life with the youth in attendance! The
Y4Life team has developed some fantastic resources that promote life that they were able to freely hand out to all who were interested in learning more. Alongside this the Y4Life director, Michelle Bauman, delivered a talk to the whole conference on the value of who you are in Christ and how that affects how we see life.
We particularly loved the group's focus on education on not only direct life facing issues, but also on issues that could lead to Life focused problems. For example they have resources around anxiety, love in the Biblical understanding, and the problems with cohabitation. Making for an all encompassing ministry.
Alongside this their main LFL branch runs a call services called “Word of Hope” which is their 24/7 manned crisis hotline run by Deaconesses who aim to give a Gospel centered response to the caller in time of need. Sometimes getting up to 400 calls a month. Giving a beautiful opportunity to deliver Christ to every life, as Christ holds every life valuable, and connecting them with their local Lutheran pastor.
It was a joy to speak with the team and be encouraged by a like minded passion to promote life with the Gospel at the center. You can find our interview with Y4Life on our LFL Australia Facebook page from July 21 - click on the ‘videos’ tab to find this link easier. We encourage everyone to look them up online to learn from and use their wealth of resources that they offer.
R-L: LFL commi ee members Rose Graham and Hayley Simons with Y4Life members.
Pray with us: “Rejoice always, pray without ceasing...” 1 Thessalonians 5:16-17
· For parents experiencing pressure from medical professionals to terminate the life of children with possible birth abnormalities.
· For women whose bodies and minds have been damaged by abortion, that they receive healing and comfort.
· For good politicians in our land, that our country may be governed well.
· For all States and Territories considering life related laws.
· For medical students and professionals not wishing to participate in ending the lives of unborn babies or the elderly.
· For workers and families supporting the elderly.
· For those with disabilities, that they would know that they are loved and precious.
· For LCA pastors in their various contexts shepherding their flock and teaching of the incredible value of life.
· For pro-life Christians everywhere who meet to encourage each other and discuss and honour the good gift of life.
· For those who protest peacefully, that they may be seen and heard.
· For the blessing of pro life walks, marches, and rallies around the nation and those who organise them.
· For the LFL bible study resources project, that writers and editors may be found who would be inspired to commit to working with LFL to refine and improve the online material.
· For the incoming LFL committee as they seek to continue the work of promoting the sanctity of life in our country as our laws become more and more against it.
Name: Mr/Mrs/Ms/Rev/Dr ____________________________________________________________
Address: ____________________________________________________________________________________________
Telephone: ______________________________
Email: _____________________________________________________
Occupation: _____________________________ Congregation: ______________________________________________
Please send me LifeNewsand keep me updated on upcoming LfL events
I prefer my LifeNewsin print , OR electronically (via email) , OR as both print and electronic
You can subscribe electronically by visiting www.lca.org.au/departments/ministry-support/ communications/enews/ . (LifeNewsis under the Churchwide tab)
The latest issue of LifeNewsand past issues can also be found on our website www.lutheransforlife.lca.org.au/public-resources/life-news/
I would like to make a financial gift to Lutherans for Life (LfL prefer online donations or cheques).
Online Donations can be made at http://donation.lca.org.au (click on ‘Other’).
Make cheques payable to ’Lutherans for Life’. Receipt Required
Please send your completed form to Janet Schoell PO Box 346, Woodside, SA 5244
PrivacyNote:YourpersonaldetailsareonlyusedfordistributingLfLpublications