An anti-abortion event in South Australia has had to change its location at the last minute because of violent threats, according to South Australia's Liberal Opposition Leader.
On Monday, politicians from the Liberal Party, Labor, Family First and SA Best were due to speak at the Enid Lyons List training day.
The event is intended to encourage young people to fight for the human rights of the unborn and will be held just five days before the state's laws decriminalising abortion come into effect and on the same day as a state by-election.
More than a dozen police officers attended Thebarton Community Centre in Adelaide's west to make sure the group's members could attend the event.
A group of pro-choice protesters gathered outside, but no one from the organisation showed up.
Neither the police nor venue management were told that Enid Lyons List would not be attending.
David Speirs, the Opposition Leader, said the event had been moved and he would still attend at its new, unidentified location.
He said it has been very unfair how this has been politicised.
I want to be involved in a progressive agenda for this state that has an alternative vision for this state.
A hundred young women are attending this event — young women who want to be involved in the leadership of this state — but because of violent threats against those young women, that event has had to be moved, that event has needed to have security and that event has to have security, because of the hate perpetuated against those young women.
How disappointing is that. South Australia will be the last state in the country to decriminalise abortion on Thursday, 16 months after the reforms were passed by the state parliament.
Speirs said he supported the decimalisation of abortion but had concerns about late-term abortion and was quite within my rights to have that view.
Premier Peter Malinauskas voted against the final version of the bill.
Ana Obradovic, who protested outside Thebarton Community Centre and organised the protest in the Adelaide CBD last night, said it was a win that community outrage had forced the event to move.
She said that these people were very confident with the overturning of Roe v Wade in the United States.
I think it's important that these people don't go unopposed, they should feel like they are a minority in society.
For whatever reason, women and trans people are entitled to choose how many people they do or don't have using whatever medical technology is available. Jack Batty is running for the Liberal Party in a by-election to replace former deputy premier Vickie Chapman, who championed the abortion bill.
When asked about the training day at a media conference about the election, Mr Speirs lashed out at a female ABC journalist for asking whether he supported the event.
Mr Speirs said the journalist was perpetuating hatred and violence towards young women for asking about the Enid Lyons List event.
He told reporters that this is a leadership workshop for young women.
As a protester, they are perpetuating hatred and threats of violence against young women in this state.
It is so disappointing for a journalist to abrogate all forms of responsibility to do that.
The Enid Lyons List has a certain framework of values that I understand to be pro-life, which is something that this event does not have to do with abortion. On its website, Enid Lyons List said it wanted to prepare and equip women leaders to take office in places of influence and to support the elevation of women who advocate for the protection of human life. ABC News tried to contact an organiser of the Enid Lyons List event and was told that no one from the organisation would be speaking to the media today.