Australian Christian Lobby renews ‘Baby Booties’ campaign to highlight babies born alive after abortion

The Australian Christian Lobby is relaunching its annual “Baby Booties” campaign to draw national attention to the deaths of hundreds of babies born alive during abortion procedures—infants who are then denied medical care and left to die in hospitals across the country.

In an email to supporters, Michelle Pearse, chief executive officer (CEO) of Australian Christian Lobby (ACL) said that in hospitals across the country, babies were being born alive during abortions, especially between 16 and 22 weeks’ gestation and then “left to die without medical care, pain relief, or even the dignity of basic comfort.”

Pearse cited Dr. Elisha Broom, speaking on behalf of the Royal Australian and New Zealand College of Obstetricians and Gynaecologists, as saying the situation was not a medical failure but “existing practice... what happens with the current legislation.” 

However, Pearse lamented that the vulnerable children were being allowed to die without any attempt to help them survive. 

“These children are knowingly delivered alive, yet because they are deemed ‘pre-viable,’ they are provided no assistance and allowed to perish,” Pearse wrote. 

“This is part of a broader tragedy—around 88,000 unborn children lose their lives to abortion annually—reflecting how Australia has quietly normalised what was once unthinkable, and not long ago, criminal.” 

Pearse also cited a “devastating testimony” given by clinical midwife Louise Adsett's to Queensland Parliament last year, 2024 at the public hearing for the Termination of Pregnancy (Live Births) Amendment Bill 2024. 

“Louise broke the culture of silence in our medical system to reveal what happens in Australian hospitals weekly: babies are born alive after abortions, ‘gasping for air, moving and having a palpable heart rate—fighting for their lives,’” Pearse quoted. 

“The scale of this tragedy is devastating,” she added, highlighting that between 2010 and 2020, 328 babies were born alive and left to die in Queensland alone. 

Pearse believed the revitalized annual advocacy campaign by ACL could work based on the organization’s previous success in “gutting” a “radical abortion bill” put forward by the NSW Greens [New South Wales Greens political party] to expand access to abortion. In Pearse’s view, “strategic advocacy worked” in this instance.

Joshua Rowe, New South Wales director for ACL, spent a long time meeting MPs from major political parties, and with other organizations concerned about the proposed abortion legislation, said Pearse, who added, “we helped gut the bill—stopping forced referrals, protecting pro-life institutions from coercive pressure, and preserving and increasing transparency in abortion reporting.”

However, federal legislation to protect babies born alive continues to face parliamentary hurdles, according to Pearse. That is why the ACL annual “Baby Booties” campaign returns this August, which will see a visual representation depicting the lost lives of the children via thousands of baby shoes. 

“Thousands of tiny shoes will represent babies denied the most basic choice: the choice to live,” said Pearse, asking Christians across Australia to support the campaign to save the lives of babies. 

“As Dietrich Bonhoeffer warned: ‘Silence in the face of evil is evil itself,’” reminded Pearse. “And Scripture reminds us what action looks like: ‘Learn to do right; seek justice. Defend the oppressed. Take up the cause of the fatherless; plead the case of the widow (Isaiah 1:17).”

“Louise Adsett [the midwife who testified] risked her career to speak truth. Joshua Rowe spent countless hours in parliamentary corridors. Thousands have rallied, petitioned, and prayed,” wrote Pearse, to ACL supporters. 

“The next chapter of this story? That's yours and mine to write. Together, we can ensure that Louise's testimony leads to protection for babies born alive. Building on our recent NSW victory, we can expand this success nationwide. United, we can be the generation that chooses life over expedience, truth over silence. 

“The babies fighting for breath in hospital rooms across our nation deserve someone willing to choose courage over comfort.”