Dear Sir

Re: Annual Grant to the New Zealand Family Planning Association.

Right to Life commends your Corporation’s objective of providing annual grants to organisations in our community that promote the common good. I wish to draw to your attention the deep concern that our members and supporters have at the provision of a grant of $50,000 by your Corporation to the New Zealand Family Planning Association for 2006 and 2007.

Right to Life is totally opposed to grants being made to this Association. We know that the Family Planning Association is strongly pro-abortion.

The Association is the major abortion referral agency in New Zealand; it believes that we need abortion as a back up for so called failed contraceptives. It supports girls under the age of 16 being able to have an abortion without the knowledge or consent of parents and has an employment policy to employ only doctors who believe that abortion is for a woman to choose in consultation with a doctor of her choice. This is abortion on demand which is unlawful in New Zealand.  Justice Miller in the High Court Judicial Review of the performance of the Abortion Supervisory Committee, stated in his judgment in June 2008, that abortion on demand was unlawful and that “there is reason to doubt the lawfulness of many abortions authorised by certifying consultants.” Many doctors employed by Family Planning are certifying consultants.

The Family Planning Association has publicly stated that it is its intention to apply to the Abortion supervisory Committee for an abortion licence for each of its 30 clinics in New Zealand. In July the Association applied to the Committee for an abortion licence for its Hamilton clinic. Our Society will vigorously oppose this and future applications for an abortion licence. An abortion licence is in effect a licence to kill. Your Corporation has an enviable reputation for integrity and service to the community. For your Corporation to continue to provide annual grants to the Association that intends to operate 30 abortion clinics in New Zealand would be damaging to your Corporations reputation and attraction as the main telecom service provider in New Zealand.

We request that in the interest of protecting the reputation of your Corporation the lives of unborn New Zealanders and the health and welfare of vulnerable women that you give consideration to terminating grants to the Family Planning Association.

Many of our members and supporters throughout New Zealand are customers of Telecom. We wish to advise that if your Corporation continues to provide grants to the Association that we would be obliged to encourage our members and supporters to express their strong disapproval by withdrawing their custom from Telecom. We sincerely hope that this action will not be necessary. We would suggest that if your Corporation wished to promote the authentic welfare of women and unborn children that you give consideration to providing the grant currently given to the Association to Pregnancy Counselling Services. This excellent Service provides compassionate and loving assistance to vulnerable women who have an unplanned pregnancy with practical help both before and after the birth of their child. Financial assistance by your Corporation to Pregnancy Counselling Services would be welcomed and applauded by many in our community. Thank you all that your Corporation does to promote the common good.

Yours sincerely

Ken Orr

Secretary