AP

SOUTH AUSTRALIA – IS LABOR PREPARING TO LEGALISE PROSTITUTION?

This month the South Australian Parliament will be voting on whether to refer the matter of decriminalising prostitution to the South Australian Law Reform Institute (SALRI). Although officially non-partisan, SALRI has previously been associated with some of th  e state’s most radical social reforms—including the legalisation of abortion to birth. Given this history, it is highly likely that if Parliament makes a referral, SALRI will recommend the full decriminalization of prostitution.
This would add significant pressure for South Australia to follow in the footsteps of Victoria, where pimping (arranging clients for brothels and being paid for it) is legal and brothels operate as largely unregulated businesses. The Australian Christian Lobby (ACL) urges Christians in South Australia to do everything to stop the referral of the matter whether or not prostitution should be decriminalized to SALRI . It would then give South Australia a fighting chance to a  more balanced, protective reform—reform that aims to reduce, not expand, the exploitation of women. [Source: ACL]

AUSTRALIA PAYS MUMS AS MUCH AS $22,000 TO KILL THEIR BABIES

The Australian government is facing fierce criticism from pro-life advocates for a welfare policy that pays women up to $22,754 to abort their healthy babies after 20 weeks of pregnancy. It’s a practice critics call a perverse incentive that undermines the sanctity of the unborn. According to a leaked article from the office of senior Labor frontbencher Senator Katy Gallagher, the policy administered through Centrelink, allows women who undergo late-term abortions to claim either a Stillborn Baby Payment of $4,327 or Parental Leave Pay totaling $22,754, provided the abortion is certified as a stillbirth. The article cited a letter from Ministerial and Parliamentary Services Director Katy Stevens, who wrote, “The eligibility criteria for Stillborn Baby Payment do not exclude circumstances where the stillbirth was due to a medical termination, including an intentional abortion.”
This payment structure, originally designed to support families grieving a stillborn child, has been extended to cases where women intentionally kill healthy babies after 20 weeks, often by injecting the baby’s heart with potassium chloride or digoxin to stop it, before inducing labour. [Source: The Daily Declaration]

SALVOS’ SHOCKING REPORT ON AUSTRALIAN POVERTY
The Salvation Army has released shocking new research highlighting the desperation of Australia’s most vulnerable people. In a survey of nearly 3,600 people who have reached out to the charity for help, it found more than half of them (55%) were skipping meals because of financial hardship. Even more (57%) could not afford prescription medication and almost a quarter (23%) were forced to eat expired or spoiled food. For families with children, the situation is even more dire, with 62% of parents saying they went without food so their kids could eat. The Salvos found 43% of families couldn’t afford essentials like formula and nappies for their young children. Over a third (36%) struggled to cover the costs of basic non-prescription medications like paracetamol or ibuprofen. A 30-year-old mum who had received support from the Salvos said: “I’m extremely depressed. I feel like I am failing as a mother. I’m a public servant and still cannot provide. I have considered quitting my job to save on the cost of petrol, parking, childcare, etc.”
Another community member said, “I just drink water to fill up my tummy. And the milk for the baby, for example, I can only put in two scoops in every bottle instead of four. I don’t use nappies for the baby because I can’t afford to buy nappies for her. When we wash our clothes, we are not using soap. I can’t afford that.”  A 62-year-old woman shared this: “I’m going without meals. I eat only one small meal a day now. I’ve cut down on my medication, only taking half of my meds. I have considered eating dog or cat food.” One in five (20%) were living in darkness to cut electricity costs and one in eight (12%) relied on public bathrooms and shopping centres to avoid using utilities at home. What challenge does this place on Christians? [Source: Vision Christian Media]

HOW SOLAR RADIOS TRANSFORM HAITIAN COMMUNITIES
Haiti— Accessing Christian radio in the remote areas of Haiti has become much easier, thanks to solar-powered technology. Haiti, plagued by gang violence and instability, has a desperate need for hope. While Christians can’t always physically reach those in need, radio signals do — uninterrupted and unrestricted. However, traditional radios relied on batteries, which eventually died, leaving listeners isolated from the uplifting messages they needed.
This challenge has been overcome with the introduction of solar-powered radios. Kate Michel from Radio-TV 4VEH, a ministry partner of Trans World Radio, explains: “When we give these out in communities, we go door to door, share the Gospel with people, and invite them into a relationship with Jesus. Whether they choose to accept Him that day or not, we leave behind a solar radio for that family. It’s tuned to 4VEH, so they can continue to hear the Gospel content.” The Gospel content includes preaching, programs on farming, health, and family counselling, along with worship music and the recorded audio Bible. The 4VEH team carries these solar radios as they visit new communities, freely distributing them. Over the past few years, they’ve distributed more than 20,000 radios! In some instances, a single radio has brought believers together, fostering the growth of church communities and planting one church after another. [Source: Missionary Network News]

SYRIA: CHRISTIAN PASTOR & ENTIRE FAMILY SLAUGHTERED AMID CHAOS AND VIOLENCE
A persecution watchdog is sounding the alarm as the situation in Syria appears to be deteriorating for minority groups like the Druze and Alawites. And Christians are being caught up in the cross-fire.  Joel Veldkamp, head of international communications at Christian Solidarity International (CSI), told CBN News that Syrian government forces have gone after these groups, killing innocents in the process. “Between July 14 and July 18, Syria’s Islamist-controlled government sent troops to occupy Suwayda province, a mountainous region of southern Syria where the majority of the population is Druze. Upon entering population centers in the province, government troops carried out numerous atrocities.” Sadly, Christians were slaughtered also.
While details are still unclear about motives and precise details, Khaled Mazhar, the pastor of the Good Shepherd Evangelical Church in Suwayda city, was killed alongside 11 other family members, and a 13th person only survived because the government soldiers thought that she was dead. While the Druzes were the main target, government fighters sometimes kill Christians along the way. Veldkamp said the Druze attack this month has accounted for “one of the worst weeks of the entire Syrian civil war”. Veldkamp believes one factor holding back extreme and targeted violence against Christians is the US and European reaction that would follow. Right now, [the Syrian government] really needs development aid from the United States and from Europe, even to make the country work,” he said. “So they’re holding off on the Christians for now, but our friends in Syria tell us that daily life is getting a lot more uncomfortable for Christians.” [Source: CBN News]

MISSION AVIATION FELLOWSHIP CELEBRATES 80 YEARS OF SERVICE
International (MAF) — Mission Aviation Fellowship (MAF), marked its 80th anniversary with a vibrant Family Festival at its headquarters at the Nampa airport, in Idaho (USA). The celebration honoured eight decades of aviation service to some of the world’s most remote and under-served communities. “On any given day, MAF aircraft are transporting people and supplies to places where access can mean the difference between life and death,” said David Holsten, MAF President and CEO. “For 80 years, our mission has remained the same: to share the love of Jesus Christ so that lives can be transformed both physically and spiritually.”

A LAWMAKER IN INDIA OFFERS REWARD FOR ATTACKING CHRISTIANS
Morning Star News – On July 11, thousands of Christians from various denominations gathered in the Azad Maidan sports ground in Mumbai, the capital city of Maharashtra, India, for a six-hour protest, following a Maharashtra state Member of Legislative Assembly (MLA), publicly offering up to $12,663 USD (1.1 million rupees) for violent attacks on Christian leaders. The protest was supported by more than 20 Christian organizations. The inflammatory offer drew some of India’s Church leaders to strongly condemn law enforcement officials, for failing to prosecute the MLA. They expressed “deep anguish and alarm over the growing climate of hostility and violence directed against minority communities in the country much of it directed at Christians.” The Church leaders argued  that such statements “warrant immediate and decisive legal intervention, particularly when the incitement is explicit, direct, and poses an imminent threat to public order.” They also expressed concern that law enforcement authorities have reportedly failed to register even a First Information Report (FIR) in regard to these acts of violence against Christians, which was “a grave breach of the Constitution”.
The MLA’s controversial offer was made during a torch march in Sangli’s Kupwad area on June 17, targeting Christian priests and pastors whom he accused of making forced religious conversions. The remarks came after a 28-year-old pregnant woman died by suicide in Sangli District, with the legislator blaming her death on alleged pressure from in-laws to convert to Christianity, though he provided no evidence for such claims. The MLA also threatened what he called ‘unauthorized prayer houses’, demanding that local officials “declare a list of all unauthorized prayer houses in Sangli District, as soon as possible and on the third day, such prayer houses should be demolished”. The MLA also assured attendees he would “try to bring a law against ‘conversion of religion’ in the next session of the state legislative assembly”. The general secretary of the Evangelical Fellowship of India, said that offering cash rewards for violence crosses all acceptable boundaries. “No elected representative should ever incentivize attacks on any citizen based on their faith,” Lal told Morning Star News. “We appeal for decisive action to ensure this rhetoric does not translate into actual violence.”
Christians constitute less than 1 percent of Maharashtra’s population, though significant communities exist in Mumbai and other urban centres. The state has witnessed increasing incidents of harassment and violence against Christian communities in recent years.

– compiled by Guido Kettniss