A lively protest was held in Brisbane on March 13 against a rally organised by a coalition of anti-abortion groups. There were about 70 people over the four-hour protest – holding a speak-out and chanting for the duration of the protest, even as the massive PA at the anti-abortion rally tried to drown out the chants with a Christian rock band.

The anti-abortion rally was about 500-600 people. In 2009, an anti-abortion rally attracted 1000 participants and the organisers were hoping for 2000 this year. “Democratic Labour Party” thugs stood at the entrance of the rally.

The cops were there to defend the anti-abortion bigots. They threatened to arrest pro-choice protesters for creating a “public nuisance” by using megaphones and aggressively stopped the pro-choice protesters from marching around the park – arresting one person violently and punching another in the face. Pro-choice protesters held their ground in the face of attempts to silence and intimidate them. The protest against the ant-abortion rally was organised by the Pro-Choice Action Collective.