This week, a bill to expand abortion services in New South Wales passed the state parliament.

But only after huge rallies objecting to the bill took place in Sydney over the weekend, with estimates of up to 10,000 people in attendance.

Speakers at the rally included Tony Abbott and activist Dr Joanna Howe.

It showed that there are still thousands of people out there who support protecting life and who back freedom of religion and conscience. Tragically, the bill permits nurses and midwives to prescribe certain abortion medication. This will greatly expand the accessibility of abortion.

However, there were some significant silver linings, with several major amendments passed.

Initially the bill, proposed by a Greens MP, would have weakened conscience protections for medical practitioners who object to abortion, requiring them to refer patients to abortion services, a clear violation of freedom of conscience.

A further provision that would have allowed the Health Minister to force faith-based, pro-life hospitals to perform abortions was also scrapped.

The original bill would also have removed data reporting, which would reduce accountability and good policymaking.

And even though the provisions allowing nurses and midwives to prescribe abortion medication up to 9 weeks remains, this was changed from the original 22 weeks in the Greens’ bill.

For Christians others opposed to abortion, the bill that passed is still concerning, but it is an important win to have the parts of the bill that threatened conscientious objections removed from the final package.

It is a timely reminder that efforts to curb freedom of religion and conscience continue to be made. However, when Christians and other people of conscience speak out, they can influence the end result.

The heated debate is a reminder of the importance of free speech in contentious areas of political discourse, especially those involving a dimension of religious conscience for some participants.

Prominent pro-life activist Joanna Howe, who has been vocal in opposing the laws, has been accused of “spreading misinformation” by both the NSW Premier and Opposition Leader in an email threatening to campaign against politicians.

But it is thanks to the work of people like Joanna and others that these important wins were achieved.

HRLA is actively engaged in defending the fundamental freedoms of all Australians, including the right to speak truth on contentious issues like abortion and the right of medical professionals not to be compelled against their conscience.