Right to Life commends the Hon. Chester Borrows for presenting a petition to Parliament on behalf of a distressed mother whose 15 year old daughter attempted suicide a year after she was smuggled out of school for a Family Planning organised secret abortion.
It is time for Parliament to amend the Care of Children Act 2004, to uphold the right of families to care for their children by ensuring that parents are advised before an abortion on their under 16 year old daughter.
Parental Notification is not an Abortion Issue but a Family Rights Issue –The Denial of Parental Notification is child Abuse.
Family Planning believe that they know what is best for our daughters. Jackie Edmonds, CEO of Family Planning says that “we will fight a potential new abortion law.” Their fight of course is with the parents of New Zealand. Public opinion polls have revealed 80 per cent support for recognition of the right of parents to be advised if their daughter is seeking to terminate the life of her unborn child. Right to Life ask who appointed Family Planning to decide what is best for our children? Withholding notification of an abortion could be hiding statutory rape or incest. This is an appalling violation of parental rights and a breach of trust. It is a sad irony that a school requires the written consent of the parents for a child to attend a school picnic or even take an aspirin, but not to attend a abortion facility.Withholding parental notification effectively leaves the young girl with only one choice, death for her child.
Right to Life challenges Family Planning to advise the community how many cases of incest or statutory rape with girls under the age of 16, that they have reported to the police?
To deny parents the opportunity to be informed of an abortion on a daughter under the age of 16, risks or perpetuates estrangement or alienation from the child when she is in the greatest need of parental guidance and support and denies all dignity to the family.
An abortion constitutes an assault on the body of a young and vulnerable young girl, it is also a lethal attack on a helpless and defenceless unborn child. Young girls facing the trauma of an unplanned pregnancy have a right to the love and protection of their families. The unborn child is also a member of the family, it has an inalienable right to life and has a fundamental right to the love and protection of the girl’s parents; They are, in fact, the child’s grandparents.
Family Planning claim that a change in the law would be “a very backward step for New Zealand”. Family Planning should be well aware, that according to the Guttmacher Institute there are 38 States in the United States that have parental consent or parental notification laws. A total of 21 States have parental consent laws, 12 that have parental notification laws and 5 that require both parental notification and consent. Many of the States require the written consent of both parents, the age of consent is 18 years of age. The parental consent and notification laws have resulted in a decline in teenage pregnancies and a15 per cent decline in teenage abortions.Western Australia also requires parental notification.
Right to Life requests that Parliament listens to parents, recognizes the fundamental rights of parents to be notified of an abortion on their under 16 year old child and amends the Care of Children Act.
Right to Life also requests, that the government recognize the damage that Family Planning is doing to our society and withdraws funding.
Ken Orr
Spokesperson
Right to Life
Well said
Well done Hillary. You have done a great service to the parents of this country who are being bullied by the pro-abortion lobby.
New Zealand has been outraged and hopefully we will now see change.
Right to Life Admin