I can still remember watching the news when I was about 10 years old and seeing a young woman trying to cross a picket line of protesters to get into an abortion clinic.

Some people believe it's murder, others believe it should be a woman's choice to abort a pregnancy in its early stages.

I think that we are very lucky in this country to have several choices available for women who have an unwanted pregnancy including adoption.

But there are other countries all over the world that don't have such systems or support in place for women in this situation. This week I learned that Vietnam has one of the highest abortion rates in the world and more than one million are performed each year.

While some may be outraged by this number it's possible these women feel they have no other option.

When I spoke to Father John Ho this week (see page 5) he said there was a priest in Vietnam who saved babies from abortion and now has 60 children under the age of three in his care.

I was impressed by this priest's commitment to his faith and the way he looked after so many children and their expecting mothers.

As a Catholic priest, he is obviously against abortion but rather than hold angry protests in front of the clinic he offers to look after the women until they give birth and then take care of their unwanted children.

Sure, more obviously needs to be done in Vietnam to educate these women so they can make informed decisions before they become pregnant.

But I think it's quite honourable that the Vietnamese priest is more than mere talk.

Another heartening part about this story for me was the lovely people at St Anthony's Catholic Church at Tahmoor.

They have photos of these children pinned to their notice board and are raising money to help the overseas priest. Some church members have even asked how they can adopt the children. They don't know the circumstances of these mothers or why they made the decisions they have, but the people of Wollondilly are always willing to help others.

mfenech@fairfaxmedia .com.au