Operation Rescue in New Zealand
By Editorial Staff
Published March 1989
AUCKLAND, New Zealand (FR) – Abortion clinic rescues have been taking place in New Zealand for more than a year – all because one dedicated Christian has decided to give his life for the cause of the unborn. Ross Bolton, 50, a former auto electrician, has made national headlines due to his peaceful demonstrations.
Bolton has styled his protest after the American-based Operation Rescue, directed by Randall Terry, a minister and graduate of Elim Bible Institute in Lima, New York. Like Operation Rescue activists, Bolton and his followers block clinic entrances in order to stop women from obtaining abortions. For his efforts, Bolton has been sent to prison four times, serving over 40 weeks in jail since he started rescues in August of 1987.
One of Bolton’s tactics which differs from Operation Rescue is the use of men over 60 years of age in the clinic rescues. “Older men have little to lose by going to jail for trespassing,” says Bolton. Advertising flyers declare: “Senior Citizens for Junior Citizens … It is a man’s job to defend his nation. It is a special honor for men full of years to offer the remainder (of their lives) to those just beginning.”
Bolton says he has received “incredible resistance” from religious leaders in New Zealand and even lukewarm response from Catholic priests who have been active in many American rescue efforts. During a New Zealand-wide day of rescue, called a “closing down celebration,” only 20 pro-lifers gathered at protest sites in Auckland and Wellington. Bolton said he contacted 100 Catholic priests by letter and only one priest attended the protest at Epsom Day Hospital in Auckland.
The New Zealand press has labeled Bolton a “martyr ready to face jail again.” News stories have circulated throughout New Zealand and press treatment has been respectful. During an interview with Charisma magazine from his jail cell, Bolton said he was puzzled by the lack of support from pro-life pastors in his nation: “When I come to town to visit them, they leave. They refuse to even let me speak with them.” A young man from Wellington, Jeff Waklien, has joined Bolton’s rescue movement but has yet to serve time in jail for his clinic-closing activities. Bolton, his wife, and young son live by donations sent from Christians who read press reports and follow Bolton’s activities in Humanity, a pro-life newspaper which circulates throughout New Zealand.
Mrs. Bolton agrees with her husband’s campaign, but is also hurt by the reluctance of many pastors to participate in clinic rescues. But despite the fact that some people have labeled him a fanatic, a newspaper in Auckland, Dominion Times, described Bolton as “an unlikely protestor, if only because of his very quiet manner.” At least one pro-life leader interviewed said he admired Bolton, and said he not only planned to join his efforts but would also urge others to do the same.
Bolton expects the rescue movement in New Zealand to grow because of strong pro-life organizations which “are beginning to grab hold of what we are doing.” Pro-lifers are following the progress of Operation Rescue in the U.S. and express a growing disgust at the increasing number of abortions being performed in their nation every year. Nearly 9,000 abortions are recorded in the nation of some 3 million inhabitants, up 9 percent over the last year’s figure.
- by Bob Nolte
Forerunner - Home » The Forerunner Newspaper » Pro-life Activism
Your comments are welcome!
Amazing Grace: The History and Theology of Calvinism (DVD)
Download the Free on-line Study Guide!
Just what is Calvinism?
Does this teaching make man a deterministic robot and God the author of sin? What about free will? If the church accepts Calvinism, won’t evangelism be stifled, perhaps even extinguished? How can we balance God’s sovereignty and man’s responsibility? What are the differences between historic Calvinism and hyper-Calvinism? Why did men like Augustine, Luther, Calvin, Spurgeon, Whitefield, Edwards and a host of renowned Protestant evangelists embrace the teaching of predestination and election and deny free will theology?
This is the first video documentary that answers these and other related questions. Hosted by Eric Holmberg, this fascinating three-part, four-hour presentation is detailed enough so as to not gloss over the controversy. At the same time, it is broken up into ten “Sunday-school-sized” sections to make the rich content manageable and accessible for the average viewer.
Running Time: 257 minutes
$19.95 — ORDER NOW!
Click here for more information
The Four Keys to the Millennium (Book)
Foundations in Biblical Eschatology
By Jay Rogers, Larry Waugh, Rodney Stortz, Joseph Meiring. High quality paperback, 167 pages.
All Christians believe that their great God and Savior, Jesus Christ, will one day return. Although we cannot know the exact time of His return, what exactly did Jesus mean when he spoke of the “sign of His coming” (Mat. 24)? How are we to interpret the prophecies in Isaiah regarding the time when “the earth will be full of the knowledge of the LORD as the waters cover the sea” (Isa. 11:19)? Should we expect a time of great tribulation or reformation and revival before the Lord returns? Is the devil bound now, and are the saints reigning with Christ? Did you know that there are four hermeneutical approaches to the book of Daniel and Revelation? These, and more questions, are dealt with by four authors as they present the four views on the millennium. Each view is then critiqued by the other three authors.
$9.95 — ORDER NOW!
Click here for more information
Martin Luther (DVD) 1953 Classic
Niall MacGinnis – Digitally Remastered
The dramatic classic film of Martin Luther’s life was released in theaters worldwide in the 1950s and was nominated for two Oscars. A magnificent depiction of Luther and the forces at work in the surrounding society that resulted in his historic reforming efforts, this film traces Luther’s life from a guilt-burdened monk to his eventual break with the Roman Catholic Church.
In spite of its age, this film continues to be a popular resource to introduce Luther’s life. This historical epic captures the life and times of the greatest figure of the Protestant Reformation with depth and clarity, while giving a glimpse at the private man in the eye of the storm. Luther’s protest against the established order of the Church gave birth to one of the largest religious and cultural movements history and serves as a prime example of how one man’s spiritual convictions can change the course of human events.
Running Time: 105 minutes
$9.95 — ORDER NOW!
Click here for more information
Dr. Francis Schaeffer - How Should We Then Live? (DVD)
Special Two-Disc Set!
After 40 years of intense study and world-wide ministry, Dr. Francis Schaeffer completed his crowning work of scholarship – to present profound truths in simple film language. Dr. Schaeffer’s brilliant analysis of the past and predictions for current trends have proven so uncannily accurate that this amazing series still feels contemporary almost three decades after its initial release. Ultimately, Schaeffer concludes that man’s only hope is a return to God’s Biblical absolute, the truth revealed in Christ through the Scriptures.
Available for the first time on DVD, this documentary spectacular also includes intimate in-depth conversations with Francis and Edith Schaeffer. With the on-disc study guide, this presentation forms a unique course of comprehensive study. While this series forms an innovative analysis of the past, this outstanding work is more than history. Each episode focuses on a significant era, yet speaks clearly to 21st-century man with answers for modern problems.
$49.95 — ORDER NOW!
Click here for more information
Massacre of Innocence (DVD)
Exposing The Occult Roots of Abortion
This presentation looks at the spiritual roots of abortion and exposes the myths surrounding child killing. Little known historical facts about abortion and how they relate to modern feminism are presented logically and accurately. Has been effective in converting many to a pro-life position.
Massacre of Innocence goes where no pro-life presentation has gone before in “tearing the lid off abortion” to reveal the spiritual realities we must battle if we will bring an end to this crime. The presentation is absorbing, fast-paced, informative and incredibly devastating to any attempt to justify abortion.
“… an extraordinary statement … a powerfully articulate presentation about what abortion really means, and why a great and moral nation like the United States must not allow the slaughter to continue.”
— Congressman Robert K. Dornan
Running time: 85 minutes
$19.95 — ORDER NOW!
