CFT Press Release
Sanctity Life Sunday - 1 Febr 2004

7 Years of Shame

The 1st of February 2004 marks 7 years of national shame. The weakest of the weak are the target of abortion-on-demand. The South African Government has tried to convince the world that it is at the forefront of human rights. The awful reality is that since parliament's promulgation of the abortion law on 1 February 1997, over 350,000 unborn babies have been denied their right to life.

Call to mind the following facts:

• Each "termination of pregnancy" does not solve problems but instead results in a dead baby and a wounded and deprived mother.
• Abortion is not the removal of "tissue" or some disease. It is the purposeful murder of a young life.
• The law which was pushed through parliament 7 years ago was done without allowing members of parliament the right to vote according to their own conscience. Also, the committee which was appointed to investigate public opinion about liberalising abortion laws was fully aware that over 98% of respondents were against abortion-on-demand.
• Allowing abortion-on-demand results in an increase of violence against children. CFT and other organisations predicted this in submissions before the parliamentary committee (having consulted research in other countries). Government's own statistics have confirmed the dramatic rise in violence against children.
• The Department of Health places enormous pressure on health workers (doctors and nurses) to participate in abortions or risk losing their jobs.

Accordingly, many Christians in South Africa commemorate the first Sunday after the 1st of February as a `National Day of Repentance'. Ministers of all denominations are called upon to remind their congregations about the sanctity of life (as revealed in the Bible), the facts about abortion, and a call to spread the truth about abortion and its disastrous effects.
This tragic date will be commemorated in various ways (including processions, prayer meetings, life-chains, and mourning) in Cape Town, Braamfontein, Boksberg and Kimberley.
With the elections around the corner we will be calling upon Christians not to vote for parties which are unclear about their stance against abortion. This has been the successful strategy of American Christians, and 3 decades after `Roe vs Wade' have managed to make abortion-on-demand a key consideration when voting.

For more information contact Jenny Christmas at 083 5294373