Anti-Abortion Demonstration Terminated in Second Trimester
Marcus reports on a short-lived anti-abortion demonstration on Main Walkway.
On Friday, July 4th, several anti-abortion demonstrators placed themselves in the middle of Main Walkway on UNSW’s Kensington campus, where they attempted to approach and interact with passing students. After campus security got involved, the men set up just outside the boundary of UNSW, positioned between the Anzac Parade light rail stop and Main Walkway. Members of the protestant Christian organisation Abolish Abortion Australia, the men put up graphic signs describing abortion as “child sacrifice” and attempted to hand passers by further extreme material condemning abortion.
However, their efforts were cut short when their two most prominent signs were snatched by students. The fate of the signs remains unknown.
The men were left standing around their last remaining sign, appearing to review video footage on the multiple cameras they had brought with them. When asked by Noise about their extensive camera setup, which included bodycams and tripods, one of the men said it was necessary for their protection. The group appears to use material captured by their cameras primarily to create montages of people reacting negatively to their demonstrations outside universities and other facilities for their YouTube channel.
Police were later spotted in the area, and the demonstrators left shortly afterwards.
One of the demonstrators described abortion as “this horrendous sin of child sacrifice” and indicated that he was glad their presence might make students uncomfortable. He said that “in our society, death and sin is so sensitive, that people need to be confronted with the reality of it.”
The UNSW SRC’s Women’s Officer Ellena Cheers-Flavell labelled the men’s actions as “disgusting”, saying that the demonstrators’ materials were “factually incorrect” and “actively advocating for control over women”. She said that “In the current political climate it is vital we condemn these kinds of actions that are rooted in misogyny and the patriarchy.”
Abortion was decriminalised in NSW in 2019, with laws passing earlier this year intended to expand access to abortion healthcare across the state.
