Media Release Wednesday 15th May 2019
Right to Life is appalled that NZ First is deserting its support base by giving critical support to the ant-life and anti- feminist agenda of the Prime Minister, Jacinda Ardern and the Minister of Justice, Andrew Little.
Andrew Little has been directed by the Prime Minister to present a government bill to take the killing of the unborn out of the Crimes Act and to make the killing health care and “a reproductive choice for women”. The support of Winston Peters and his caucus for this proposed bill is absolutely critical for without this support the Labour Party would not be able to proceed with the proposed anti -feminist and anti-life bill, it would have the ignominious fate that this bill deserves.
The stunning betrayal by NZ First of the women of New Zealand and our precious unborn is unparalleled in the history of New Zealand. It is a declaration:
- That the State has no duty to protect the lives of New Zealanders in their first nine months of life
- That the killing of an unborn child is not a crime
- that it is a woman’s right to choose to terminate the life of her child for any reason up to 22 weeks, effectively up to birth if a doctor thinks that it is appropriate
- That sex selection abortions should be legal.
At the 2017 general election NZ First received 186,706 party votes which was 7.2 % of the total party votes. In a Reid Research poll conducted in February 2019, NZ First received 2.9 % support from those polled. On current polling NZ First would be expected to have NO Members of Parliament elected at the 2020 general election.
A poll of a 1,000 respondents conducted by Curia Market Research on behalf of Family First in December 2017 revealed that 96% of NZ First voters were opposed to sex selection abortions. That 38% were opposed to abortions being performed after 15 weeks and a further 10 % were opposed to abortions being done at all. 73 % were opposed to abortions and wanted them reduced.
Right to Life now asks, how is Winston Peters going to convince the electorate that the killing of the unborn child is no longer a crime and is to be “a reproductive choice for women”? Why should the electorate trust Winston Peters to protect women and the unborn when he had stated publicly in 2014 that he was opposed to the decriminalisation of abortion and now in 2019 that he supports the decriminalisation of abortion?
It is still not too late. Right to Life earnestly requests that Winston Peters take the mantle of statesman and stand on the high moral ground by courageously reaffirming his opposition to the decriminalisation of abortion and withdrawing his support for the anti-life agenda of the Labour Party and the proposed evil bill to decriminalise abortion. This could be his finest hour when he becomes the defender of women and our precious unborn.
Ken Orr
Spokesperson,
Right to Life
They have never been trustworthy at all when it comes to euthanasia. Remember former NZF leader Peter Brown was behind the Death With Dignity Bill in 2005, and with the exception of List MP Dail Jones, his entire caucus voted for its first reading? And they look set to do so again with the End of Life Choices Bill and its second reading if there’s a binding referendum attached. How sadly typical for them that they have now swerved onto the pro-abortion road as well., So much for Peters stating that he ‘believed in life from the point of conception’ at a Family First forum meeting!