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'Tradies for Babies': How an Australian tradesman grieving a loss sparked a movement
On a September morning in 2024, Dr. Joanna Howe ("Dr. Jo") met a tradesman outside the office of South Australian Premier Peter Malinauskas, anticipating a simple community letterbox campaign — but what this man said about abortion made an impact on her and on the nation.
"Tradies for Babies" is an Australian grassroots pro-life movement with the goal of ending abortion by giving everyday men (in this case, tradesmen) a voice in the abortion debate, who want to change the culture and the law, as well as offer practical support to mothers (including help with things like plumbing and electrical work).
“Tradies for Babies” stands apart as a movement set up by and for working men — carpenters, electricians, plumbers, mechanics, and others whose perspectives have long been missing from the abortion debate, but who have been impacted by it.
The group began in September 2025, and within a year has drawn global support, with men submitting their own videos that are seen by over 80,000 online followers across five social platforms.
The group's director, Shaun Freeborn, says, “[B]ehind every video is a story. Behind every view is someone who may be facing an unexpected pregnancy, carrying regret, or wondering whether they are allowed to speak.”
That day, among the volunteers, stood a tradesman in ordinary work clothes, his hands roughened by years of manual labor — a man more accustomed to fixing things with his hands than making speeches. Yet when Dr. Jo asked what had brought him there, his response echoed through the clamor of political debate.
“Most of our construction workers, I tell ’em about what’s going on — they’ve got no idea,” he told her, referencing the topic of abortion. “They’re so busy at work paying off these ridiculous mortgages that they can’t take time off or they’ll lose their homes. But they don’t know anything about all these babies being killed. Nobody knows about it.”
Dr Jo recorded the exchange and posted it online. Within days, the post garnered hundreds of thousands of views. It was there that Dr. Jo first used the phrase, “Tradies for Babies" ("tradies" being short for tradespeople).
Many Australians — particularly men — responded with relief that a man was finally speaking up for the preborn.
That moment planted a seed. A year later, “Tradies for Babies” had grown into one of Australia’s most striking grassroots pro-life movements.
In September 2025, five tradesmen made the long drive from Mildura to South Australia to support proposed laws protecting babies beyond 23 weeks of gestation.
Before the gathering began, one of the men told Dr Jo, “We drove from Mildura today; there are five of us from our building site. I have nine beautiful grandchildren, and there’s one grandbaby I’ll never get to hug or hear them say ‘Pop.’”
When the rally ended, the five men approached Dr. Jo again. This time, they had a name for themselves: “Tradies for Babies.”
Dr. Jo thought the five men’s suggestion was a great idea. After meeting with them and witnessing their commitment, she moved to establish “Tradies for Babies” as a formal organization, appointing Shaun Freeborn as its founding director.
“Tradies for Babies” joined Dr. Joanna Howe’s broader Australian movement to end abortion, alongside Bird Flip and Pro-Life Health Professionals Australia.
But “Tradies for Babies” stood apart as a movement set up by and for working men — carpenters, electricians, plumbers, mechanics, and others whose perspectives had long been missing from the abortion debate.
Shaun Freeborn did not begin his journey as director of “Tradies for Babies” with a media strategy, but with a phone camera, a high-vis (high visibility) shirt, and a conviction that men could no longer stay silent.
“‘Tradies for Babies’ is a movement that began in Australia and exists to end abortion worldwide by providing a vehicle for men to speak up on the issue of abortion," Freeborn said, and the movement has a dual mission — changing hearts and changing laws — to propel both cultural and legislative change to end abortion, while also offering practical support and housing for mothers.
Freeborn's early videos were published on his wife Simone’s pro-life page, at a time when Simone was creating content for Bird Flip. Freeborn did not dress the message up in political language; he spoke straightforwardly, as a tradie to other tradies.
Reactions from the public were immediate — and divided.
Some people loved the notion of men joining the abortion conversation. Others were outraged that a tradesman would dare speak about an issue they claimed did not involve him.
Regardless, Freeborn saw something significant in both types of reactions: people were paying attention. He said:
“There was something powerful about tradies taking a stand. These are men who build homes, fix power lines, and keep the country running. When they speak about protecting babies, it does not sound abstract. It sounds personal.”
Freeborn and his wife know the pain of abortion firsthand. Early in their relationship, the couple aborted their first child, a daughter they later named Evangeline.
“We thought the abortion would be a quick fix,” Freeborn admitted to Live Action News. “It wasn’t.”
The couple’s grief never faded with time. On the contrary, it became woven into their family’s daily life — a quiet absence felt most keenly in ordinary moments, particularly when their other children play together.
“When we see our other children play, we are so conscious of their sibling who is not there to play with them,” Freeborn acknowledged.
“Tradies for Babies” is a way to honor Evangeline’s memory. It is also a way to reach out to other men and women before they make the same tragic decision to abort their child.
“We want to save babies, men, and women from the evil of abortion,” Freeborn said. “We know what it costs. We do not want anyone else to carry that sorrow.”
The Freeborns' personal testimony now rests at the crux of the movement. “Tradies for Babies” does more than debate policy — it exhorts men to articulate honestly about abortion, regret, grief, fatherhood, and the children they never had the chance to meet.
When Freeborn is asked why tradespeople now carry so much weight in the pro-life debate, he notes that, for too long, men have been told they have no place in the abortion debate: “No uterus, no opinion.”
But “Tradies for Babies” arose from men deciding to speak anyway — not for themselves, but for babies who have no voice.
“In Australia, tradies have a special place in our history,” he elaborated. “It was tradies who built this country — the houses, the railroads, and the electricity lines. Giving tradies a voice on abortion, many of whom have experienced loss firsthand, has been a powerful way to begin a grassroots conversation about Australia’s abortion laws.”
The movement’s growth so far has been striking. “Tradies for Babies” officially began on 21 September 2025, and within a year it had drawn support from around the world, with men in many countries submitting their own videos to the Freeborns.
Today, “Tradies for Babies” boasts over 80,000 online followers and pulls in around a million video views monthly across five social platforms.
Still, Freeborn is quick to point out that the statistics are not what matter most:
“The numbers matter because they show men are listening. But behind every video is a story. Behind every view is someone who may be facing an unexpected pregnancy, carrying regret, or wondering whether they are allowed to speak.”
“Tradies for Babies” may have begun online, but it is quickly becoming a real, in-person community, organizing events and training, and building a database of pro-life tradies who can assist vulnerable pregnant women and mothers who need practical help.
It is also starting to partner with local pregnancy-help centers to meet needs linked to housing, building, plumbing, and electricity.
Such a practical focus matters to Freeborn. “If a mother needs somewhere safe to live, or help with a rental property, or plumbing, or electrical work, we want pro-life tradies to be able to say, ‘We can help,’” he told Live Action News. “A culture of life has to be more than words. It has to be practical support.”
For the Freeborns, supporting mothers cannot be separated from defending preborn children.
“We are not asking women to face crisis pregnancies by themselves,” he highlighted. “We are asking men and communities to step up.”
Across Australia, every state and territory permits abortion right up until birth. Freeborn makes no attempt to soften the ultimate aim of “Tradies for Babies,” saying the group's goal is "to end abortion. We would like to make it illegal, and we are working with local politicians to achieve this.”
But he also insists that the legal battle cannot be fought apart from the cultural one.
Laws can protect children, but only after enough people come to believe those children deserve that protection.
This is why “Tradies for Babies” keeps turning the camera on everyday men rather than career campaigners. It began with one tradie outside a premier's office who grieved a grandchild he'll never know, and today it continues through others who have chosen to turn their grief into action.
“We cannot bring her back,” Freeborn lamented, speaking of their daughter, Evangeline. “But we can fight so that other fathers get to hold their babies. We can speak for the ones who cannot speak for themselves.”
Live Action News is pro-life news and commentary from a pro-life perspective.
Our work is possible because of our donors. Please consider giving to further our work of changing hearts and minds on issues of life and human dignity.
Contact editor@liveaction.org for questions, corrections, or if you are seeking permission to reprint any Live Action News content.
Guest Articles: To submit a guest article to Live Action News, email editor@liveaction.org with an attached Word document of 800-1000 words. Please also attach any photos relevant to your submission if applicable. If your submission is accepted for publication, you will be notified within three weeks. Guest articles are not compensated (see our Open License Agreement). Thank you for your interest in Live Action News!
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·'Tradies for Babies': How an Australian tradesman grieving a loss sparked a movement
On a September morning in 2024, Dr. Joanna Howe ("Dr. Jo") met a tradesman outside the office of South Australian Premier Peter Malinauskas, anticipating a simple community letterbox campaign — but what this man said about abortion made an impact on her and on the nation.
"Tradies for Babies" is an Australian grassroots pro-life movement with the goal of ending abortion by giving everyday men (in this case, tradesmen) a voice in the abortion debate, who want to change the culture and the law, as well as offer practical support to mothers (including help with things like plumbing and electrical work).
“Tradies for Babies” stands apart as a movement set up by and for working men — carpenters, electricians, plumbers, mechanics, and others whose perspectives have long been missing from the abortion debate, but who have been impacted by it.
The group began in September 2025, and within a year has drawn global support, with men submitting their own videos that are seen by over 80,000 online followers across five social platforms.
The group's director, Shaun Freeborn, says, “[B]ehind every video is a story. Behind every view is someone who may be facing an unexpected pregnancy, carrying regret, or wondering whether they are allowed to speak.”
That day, among the volunteers, stood a tradesman in ordinary work clothes, his hands roughened by years of manual labor — a man more accustomed to fixing things with his hands than making speeches. Yet when Dr. Jo asked what had brought him there, his response echoed through the clamor of political debate.
“Most of our construction workers, I tell ’em about what’s going on — they’ve got no idea,” he told her, referencing the topic of abortion. “They’re so busy at work paying off these ridiculous mortgages that they can’t take time off or they’ll lose their homes. But they don’t know anything about all these babies being killed. Nobody knows about it.”
Dr Jo recorded the exchange and posted it online. Within days, the post garnered hundreds of thousands of views. It was there that Dr. Jo first used the phrase, “Tradies for Babies" ("tradies" being short for tradespeople).
Many Australians — particularly men — responded with relief that a man was finally speaking up for the preborn.
That moment planted a seed. A year later, “Tradies for Babies” had grown into one of Australia’s most striking grassroots pro-life movements.
In September 2025, five tradesmen made the long drive from Mildura to South Australia to support proposed laws protecting babies beyond 23 weeks of gestation.
Before the gathering began, one of the men told Dr Jo, “We drove from Mildura today; there are five of us from our building site. I have nine beautiful grandchildren, and there’s one grandbaby I’ll never get to hug or hear them say ‘Pop.’”
When the rally ended, the five men approached Dr. Jo again. This time, they had a name for themselves: “Tradies for Babies.”
Dr. Jo thought the five men’s suggestion was a great idea. After meeting with them and witnessing their commitment, she moved to establish “Tradies for Babies” as a formal organization, appointing Shaun Freeborn as its founding director.
“Tradies for Babies” joined Dr. Joanna Howe’s broader Australian movement to end abortion, alongside Bird Flip and Pro-Life Health Professionals Australia.
But “Tradies for Babies” stood apart as a movement set up by and for working men — carpenters, electricians, plumbers, mechanics, and others whose perspectives had long been missing from the abortion debate.
Shaun Freeborn did not begin his journey as director of “Tradies for Babies” with a media strategy, but with a phone camera, a high-vis (high visibility) shirt, and a conviction that men could no longer stay silent.
“‘Tradies for Babies’ is a movement that began in Australia and exists to end abortion worldwide by providing a vehicle for men to speak up on the issue of abortion," Freeborn said, and the movement has a dual mission — changing hearts and changing laws — to propel both cultural and legislative change to end abortion, while also offering practical support and housing for mothers.
Freeborn's early videos were published on his wife Simone’s pro-life page, at a time when Simone was creating content for Bird Flip. Freeborn did not dress the message up in political language; he spoke straightforwardly, as a tradie to other tradies.
Reactions from the public were immediate — and divided.
Some people loved the notion of men joining the abortion conversation. Others were outraged that a tradesman would dare speak about an issue they claimed did not involve him.
Regardless, Freeborn saw something significant in both types of reactions: people were paying attention. He said:
“There was something powerful about tradies taking a stand. These are men who build homes, fix power lines, and keep the country running. When they speak about protecting babies, it does not sound abstract. It sounds personal.”
Freeborn and his wife know the pain of abortion firsthand. Early in their relationship, the couple aborted their first child, a daughter they later named Evangeline.
“We thought the abortion would be a quick fix,” Freeborn admitted to Live Action News. “It wasn’t.”
The couple’s grief never faded with time. On the contrary, it became woven into their family’s daily life — a quiet absence felt most keenly in ordinary moments, particularly when their other children play together.
“When we see our other children play, we are so conscious of their sibling who is not there to play with them,” Freeborn acknowledged.
“Tradies for Babies” is a way to honor Evangeline’s memory. It is also a way to reach out to other men and women before they make the same tragic decision to abort their child.
“We want to save babies, men, and women from the evil of abortion,” Freeborn said. “We know what it costs. We do not want anyone else to carry that sorrow.”
The Freeborns' personal testimony now rests at the crux of the movement. “Tradies for Babies” does more than debate policy — it exhorts men to articulate honestly about abortion, regret, grief, fatherhood, and the children they never had the chance to meet.
When Freeborn is asked why tradespeople now carry so much weight in the pro-life debate, he notes that, for too long, men have been told they have no place in the abortion debate: “No uterus, no opinion.”
But “Tradies for Babies” arose from men deciding to speak anyway — not for themselves, but for babies who have no voice.
“In Australia, tradies have a special place in our history,” he elaborated. “It was tradies who built this country — the houses, the railroads, and the electricity lines. Giving tradies a voice on abortion, many of whom have experienced loss firsthand, has been a powerful way to begin a grassroots conversation about Australia’s abortion laws.”
The movement’s growth so far has been striking. “Tradies for Babies” officially began on 21 September 2025, and within a year it had drawn support from around the world, with men in many countries submitting their own videos to the Freeborns.
Today, “Tradies for Babies” boasts over 80,000 online followers and pulls in around a million video views monthly across five social platforms.
Still, Freeborn is quick to point out that the statistics are not what matter most:
“The numbers matter because they show men are listening. But behind every video is a story. Behind every view is someone who may be facing an unexpected pregnancy, carrying regret, or wondering whether they are allowed to speak.”
“Tradies for Babies” may have begun online, but it is quickly becoming a real, in-person community, organizing events and training, and building a database of pro-life tradies who can assist vulnerable pregnant women and mothers who need practical help.
It is also starting to partner with local pregnancy-help centers to meet needs linked to housing, building, plumbing, and electricity.
Such a practical focus matters to Freeborn. “If a mother needs somewhere safe to live, or help with a rental property, or plumbing, or electrical work, we want pro-life tradies to be able to say, ‘We can help,’” he told Live Action News. “A culture of life has to be more than words. It has to be practical support.”
For the Freeborns, supporting mothers cannot be separated from defending preborn children.
“We are not asking women to face crisis pregnancies by themselves,” he highlighted. “We are asking men and communities to step up.”
Across Australia, every state and territory permits abortion right up until birth. Freeborn makes no attempt to soften the ultimate aim of “Tradies for Babies,” saying the group's goal is "to end abortion. We would like to make it illegal, and we are working with local politicians to achieve this.”
But he also insists that the legal battle cannot be fought apart from the cultural one.
Laws can protect children, but only after enough people come to believe those children deserve that protection.
This is why “Tradies for Babies” keeps turning the camera on everyday men rather than career campaigners. It began with one tradie outside a premier's office who grieved a grandchild he'll never know, and today it continues through others who have chosen to turn their grief into action.
“We cannot bring her back,” Freeborn lamented, speaking of their daughter, Evangeline. “But we can fight so that other fathers get to hold their babies. We can speak for the ones who cannot speak for themselves.”
Live Action News is pro-life news and commentary from a pro-life perspective.
Our work is possible because of our donors. Please consider giving to further our work of changing hearts and minds on issues of life and human dignity.
Contact editor@liveaction.org for questions, corrections, or if you are seeking permission to reprint any Live Action News content.
Guest Articles: To submit a guest article to Live Action News, email editor@liveaction.org with an attached Word document of 800-1000 words. Please also attach any photos relevant to your submission if applicable. If your submission is accepted for publication, you will be notified within three weeks. Guest articles are not compensated (see our Open License Agreement). Thank you for your interest in Live Action News!
Cassy Cooke
·Activism
Angeline Tan
·Activism
Nancy Flanders
·Guest Column
Lisa Bourne
·Guest Column
Mark Lee Dickson
·Human Interest
Lisa Bast
·International
Angeline Tan
·Activism
Angeline Tan
·Human Interest
Angeline Tan
·Human Interest
Angeline Tan
·International
Angeline Tan
·