This Man Could Face A Year In Prison Just For Speaking Out Against Abortion

lifenews.com

An Australian man is risking jail time to speak out for babies in the womb.

A new Queensland pro-abortion law, slated to go into effect Dec. 3, prohibits Graham Preston and other pro-life advocates from reaching out to women outside abortion facilities, the Catholic Leader reports. If they disobey, the 63-year-old and other pro-lifers could be sent to jail for as long as a year.

Preston frequently stands outside abortion facilities in Brisbane with images of unborn babies and messages of hope to mothers considering abortion, according to the report.

This outreach, deemed “harassment and intimidation” by pro-abortion lawmakers, soon will be illegal in Queensland, but Preston said he will not stop speaking out for unborn babies.

“Just because the law has been changed it doesn’t mean we should become silent. It’s more important than ever,” Preston said. “I will continue campaigning on the streets anywhere there is traffic around – so I am not stopping altogether. One of the signs I’ve held lately reads: ‘Abortion still destroys lives.’”

He has been punished for violating abortion clinic buffer zones in other states. According to the report, Preston was fined $3,000 for violating the anti-free speech zone in Tasmania, and has been put in jail six times for speaking out against abortion.

Soon, Queensland may punish him for free speech as well. In October, the state legislature passed a radical pro-abortion law to legalize abortions for any reason up to 22 weeks of pregnancy and up to birth with the permission of two medical practitioners, The New Daily reported at the time. The legislation also establishes 150-meter buffer zones around abortion businesses to restrict pro-life outreach.

Preston said he has not given up all hope. The Australian High Court currently is considering a lawsuit challenging buffer zones in Victoria and Tasmania as violations of free speech, according to the report.