Right to Life New Zealand

Upholding the sanctity of Human life and Standing Up for the Vulnerable

Prime Minister, are you really serious about protecting human life?

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It is the first duty of the State to protect the lives of every member of the community from conception to natural death and not to preside over our destruction.

The government and Parliament are commended for declaring a state of emergency to confront the threat to human life presented by the coronavirus pandemic and to protect the lives of New Zealanders. Prime Minister, when is your government going to declare a national emergency to protect the lives of the more than 13,000 unborn children who are murdered each year in abortions?

This is the same Parliament and government that only one week ago, while other Parliaments were giving urgency to debating a response to the Coronavirus pandemic, debated abortion legislation for four hours and rushed through Parliament the anti-life and anti-women Abortion Legislation Bill that would remove the right to life and facilitate the killing of our unborn children and cause damage to the physical and mental health of their mothers. The same parliament on the same day spent only 2.5 hours debating their response to the fast evolving Coronavirus pandemic.

Dr Bloomfield, Director General of Health told media all our DHBs have plans in place to scale down their current activity, which may include elective surgery and outpatient appointments to free up capacity and staff. Abortion is elective surgery. Right to Life requests that abortions be stopped to free up capacity and staff to concentrate on helping Coronavirus patients.

Prime Minister, are you really serious about wanting to protect the lives of all New Zealanders? While Coronavirus represents a grave threat with as unknown magnitude, abortion also poses a great threat to the lives of New Zealanders who are alive but not yet born. One in five defenceless children in the womb will be innocent victims of abortion. The fatality rate from abortion for the unborn is 100%. To keep things in perspective, we should be aware that since the declaration of emergency on Wednesday more than 70 unborn children have been violently killed in abortions in New Zealand.

Every day an estimated 35 innocent and defenceless unborn children are taken to our Public Hospitals to be violently killed in abortion under the pretext that this is health care. These are the same Hospitals that are now preparing to treat seriously ill patients who may contract coronavirus.

It is fervently hoped that there will be no fatalities resulting from Coronavirus during the period of lockdown. There will however be more than 1,000 unborn children killed during this initial four week period by doctors who are sworn to protect life. The deaths of all these children are preventable.

The abortion industry is deemed to be an essential service and is unaffected by the lock down. It is designated a core health service with unlimited funding and no waiting list. It is elective surgery with abortion on demand for any reason up to 20 weeks gestation and up to birth if two doctors believe that it is ‘appropriate’. There is nothing that can impede the abortion industry, not even a national emergency.

Ken Orr
Spokesperson,
Right to Life


A Dark Day in our History Parliament Abandons Women and their Unborn Children

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Media Release 18th March 2020

Parliament today passed the Labour led government Abortion Legislation Bill by 68 to 51. This represents an unprecedented attack on the family, on the status and dignity of women and on the right to life of New Zealanders in the first nine months of life.

Our right to life is universal and inalienable. The denial of the right to life of the unborn is an attack on the right to life of every member of our human family. If today Parliament can deny the right to life of the unborn it will inevitably deny our right to life when we cease to be of value to the State.

By taking women and the unborn out of the protection of the Crimes Act, this Act for the first time in the history of New Zealand has given permission for the violent killing of the unborn up to birth. This appalling Act has created a very dangerous precedent. It was prophesised by the Royal Commission on Contraception Sterilisation and Abortion in 1977, when it warned Parliament, that if Parliament did not effectively protect the right to life of the unborn, a future Parliament would refuse to protect the right to life of those with Dementia and Alzheimer’s.

The Act achieves the following outcomes:-

  • It withdraws the protection of the State to protect women and their unborn child.
  • It denies the humanity of the unborn child.
  • It denies the child’s inalienable God given right to life.
  • It grants property rights to the mother over her child and gives her the ‘right’ to terminate its life
  • It declares that it is no longer a crime to kill an unborn child.
  • It pretends that the killing of a defenceless unborn child is health care.
  • It violates the conscience rights of doctors not to be involved in the killing of their unborn patients.
  • It violates the right of free speech and assembly of those who seek to offer help to women seeking an abortion or to pray within 150 metres of a  killing centre.

The Prime Minister, Jacinda Ardern, the architect of this Act must accept responsibility for the violence that this Act will inflict on women. Right to Life willingly concedes that she and her colleagues are motivated by the most noble of aspirations in doing what is best for women. Sadly she and her colleagues are sadly mistaken. We do not help women by empowering them to kill their children before they are born. The mark of a civilised society is the loving protection that they surround their women and children with to shield them from violence. This Act will expose women to increased coercion and violence to terminate the life of their child.

Right to Life commends the MPs who voted to defeat this Act at its third reading. The pro-life movement will not rest until this draconian anti-life Act is repealed.

Ken Orr,
Spokesperson,
Right to Life

The NZ Church is Coming Together Against the Abortion Legislation Bill

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It is very encouraging to see the New Zealand churches responding and finally standing up in opposition to the Abortion Legislation bill. Letters have been sent to Jacinda Ardern from New Zealand’s Church leaders expressing major concern over this bill.

Church leaders in Auckland have sent Jacinda Ardern a letter condemning the bill (See below), Christchurch leaders have now joined in opposition to it. We believe other churches are following with more statements. This is truly unprecedented in New Zealand and signals the awakening of a sleeping giant.

A letter to the Prime Minister & Members of Parliament from the Christian Churches of Canterbury

Dear Prime Minister & Members of Parliament,

The Christian Churches of Canterbury which are listed below, who represent 21,356 people within our great nation, wish to strongly state their opposition to the proposed Abortion Legislation Bill which is currently being considered.
Both science and reason point to the fact that those within the womb are no less human than those outside of the womb, only differing in terms of their size, level of development, environment, and degree of dependency.
As the current elected government, you have been entrusted with the weighty responsibility of protecting the human rights of every living New Zealander, especially those who are the most defenceless and vulnerable.
In the attempt to uphold the rights of some New Zealanders, this Abortion Legislation Bill fatally terminates the rights of others, which is why we urge you to reconsider your support of this Bill, and vote NO at the 3rd and final reading.
In this final hour, we pray that you will have the courage to make the right decision, standing up for the rights of those kiwis who are without a voice.

On behalf of the following Christian Churches in Canterbury:

  • Ps Jason Winslade, Redemption Church
  • Ps Joe Fleener, Rolleston Baptist Church
  • Ps Nick Clevely, Covenant Grace Baptist Church
  • Ps Rob Harrod, Grace Baptist Church
  • Ps Mark Pavelka & Ps Wendy Gerrling, Gleniti Baptist Church
  • Rev Dave Clancey, Trinity South Christchurch
  • Rev James de Costobadie, Latimer Church
  • Rev Andrew Allan-Johns, Anchor Charismatic Anglican
  • Ps Tony Blackie, Beckenham Baptist Church
  • Ps Andrew de Vries, Reformed Church of Bishopdale
  • Ps Andre Powell, Cornerstone Church Rolleston
  • Ps Jon Hales, Riverside Community Church
  • Rev Toby Behan, Anglican Life Rangiora
  • Ps Max Palmer, Life Church International
  • Ps David Waldron, Reformed Church of Christchurch
  • Ps Elijah Wong, Christchurch Chinese Abundant Life Church
  • Rev Dr Stephen McNabb, Christ Church Roimata
  • Ps Warren Gouman, C3 Church Christchurch
  • Rev Andy Carley, All Saints Anglican Church
  • Ps Pat Lamborn, Connect Church Christchurch
  • Ps Murray Woodfield, Calvary Chapel Christchurch
  • Ps Ben & Amy Kendrew, Arise Church Christchurch
  • Ps Albert Couperus, Reformed Church of Rangiora
  • Rev Dr Clint Ussher, The Well Church
  • Ps Gideon Hoekend, Harmony Church
  • Ps Lincoln Rout, Rutland Street Church
  • Ps David MacGregor, Grace Vineyard Church
  • Ps Bruce Fraser, Rechurch
  • Ps Kathleen Macdonald, Restoration Ministries
  • Ps Hamish Gallowy, Hope Presbyterian Network
  • Ps Kerry Brewerton, Rangiora Baptist Church
  • Ps Jared van Berkel, Thrive Church
  • Ps Gavin Topp, Oikos Ministries International
  • Rev Jay Behan, St Stephen’s (Church of Confessing Anglicans)
  • Ps Ken Shelley, King’s Church
  • Ps Nigel Ripley, Burwood Christian Centre
  • Rev Peter Hurricks, Anglican Parish of Halswell & Prebbleton
  • Ps Bill Avenell, Ashburton Baptist Church
  • Ps William Lopez, Jesus Is Lord Church
  • Rev Dr Peter Carrell, Anglican Bishop of Christchurch
  • Rev John Fox, Christian Disability Trust
  • Ps Daniel Wu, Canterbury Chinese Christian Church
  • Ps Bernhard Wewege, Every Nation Church
  • Ps Andy van Ameyde, Reformed Church of Dovedale
  • Rev Joshua Taylor, St John’s Anglican Church

On behalf of the Christchurch Church leaders

Pastor Jason Winslade.

Redemption Church

A letter to the Prime Minister & Members of Parliament from the Auckland leaders

“Dear Prime Minister,

The Christian Churches listed below wish to strongly state our opposition to the proposed Abortion Legislation Bill, in that these radical and extreme proposals completely ignore any and all human rights of the unborn child.

We urge you as our Prime Minister, and other members of Parliament, to reconsider your stand regarding this piece of legislation and vote NO at the upcoming 3rd and final reading.

  • Ps Tak Bhana, Senior Pastor, Church Unlimited
  •  Ps Paul de Jong, Senior Pastor, LIFE
  • Ps Jonathan Dove, Chair for Auckland Church Leaders, & Senior Pastor, Greenlane Christian Centre
  • Most Rev Patrick Dunn, Catholic Bishop of Auckland, Catholic Diocese of Auckland
  • Ps Steve Green, Elim Churches of NZ
  • Ps Brian Kelly, Calvary Chapel
  • Rev Dr Stuart Lange, National Director, New Zealand Christian Network
  • Rev Andrew Marshall, Alliance churches
  • Ps Sam Monk, National Leader Acts Churches New Zealand & Senior Pastor Equippers Church
  • Ps Lui Ponifasio, CCCNZ Churches Auckland & LifeChurch NZ
  • Ps Dean Rush, C3 Auckland
  • Ps Jim Shaw, New Life Churches
  • Ps Kok Soon Lee, Chinese Churches NZ
  • Rev David Waldron, Rev John Haverland, Pieter van der Wel and John van Dyk (The Synodical Interim Committee) of the Reformed Churches of New Zealand
  • Ps Jason Winslade, Redemption Church
  • Rev. Paul Allen-Baines, Chairman Congregational Union of New Zealand (Auckland District)
  •  Ps. Brent Douglas, Encounter Christian Churches
  • The Ven Dr Lyndon Drake, Archdeacon of Tamaki Makaurau, Maori Anglican Pihopatanga o Te Tai Tokerau
  •  Ps. Iliafi Esera, General Superintendent, Assemblies of God in NZ
  • Ps. Sanjai Kandregula, Executive Presbytery, Assemblies of God, and Senior Pastor Our City Church
  • Ps. Boyd Ratnaraja and Ps Steve Green, Elim Churches of NZ

On behalf of Auckland Church Leaders,

Ps Jonathan Dove
Chairperson
Auckland Church Leaders”

Parliament Defeats Born Alive Amendment to Abortion Bill

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Media Release 11 March 2020

Do the Prime Minister, Jacinda Ardern and the Minister of Justice approve of the infanticide of babies born alive in a late term abortion?

Parliament last night (10th March), voted 80 to 37 to defeat an amendment proposed by Simon O’Connor to the government Abortion Legislation Bill. The amendment proposed that a “qualified health practitioner who performed the abortion that results in the birth of a child, or any other health practitioner present at the time the child is born, has a duty to provide the child with appropriate medical care and treatment.”

The commendable object of this amendment was to ensure that the child would receive the same medical care and treatment as any other child who was born. This is the care that any decent society would provide its children. International experience reveals that babies are sometimes born alive after abortion and often cry for help.

It is appalling that 80 MPs were opposed to the amendment which made it clear that doctors had a serious obligation to provide this critical health care.

It is acknowledged that the objective of abortion is to deliver a dead baby (that has been violently killed), The last thing an abortionist wants is a live baby after completing an abortion.

The government Abortion Bill is at pains to ignore the truth that abortion concerns two patients, the mother and the child. The government is silent on the purpose of the Bill which is to facilitate the murder of an innocent and defenceless unborn child. It is therefore understandable that Parliament would collude to defeat this amendment which gives recognition to the truth that :-

The unborn child is a human being.

The child has right to life that needs to be respected and protected.

Medical practitioners have a duty to protect life and not to destroy it.

It is very disturbing that our Prime Minister, Minister of Justice and the majority of her government made the decision to vote against this important amendment. One would expect that any humane person would extend at least this minimum care to a child who had survived murderous intent. However it is clear that even this concession was a bridge to far for those who recognise that any moderation to the legal ‘right’ to kill carries the risk to the holy grail of “CHOICE”.

Right to Life asks our Prime Minister, Jacinda Ardern as a woman and a loving mother of a child, why did you oppose this amendment to provide health care to a child that had survived the horror of a late term abortion?

Ken Orr,
Spokesperson,
Right to Life

Jacinda Ardern and Andrew Little Upset at being exposed to the Violence of Abortion

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Media Release Friday 6th March 2020

“Prime Minister, we the unborn have no voice. We must then let our broken and bloodied bodies speak to you.”

The Prime Minister, Jacinda Ardern and the Minister of Justice, Andrew Little were upset that Members of Parliament should see graphic pictures of defenceless and weak unborn children who have been violently killed in abortions.

Right to Life asks them that if graphics exposing the bodies of the brutally murdered victims of abortion are so horrible that you cannot stand to look at them, why do you tolerate and facilitate their murder?

Members of the pro-life movement gathered peacefully outside Parliament on the day of the second reading of the anti-women and anti -life Abortion Legislation Bill. Several members held heart rendering graphic pictures of aborted babies.

The Prime Minister, who has enthusiastically sponsored her Labour led government bill, said she was personally against the use of such images.

“I just think that’s not a way to share the legitimate views that other people will have,”

“People will have their own views and they should be able to freely express them. But people should also be mindful that those who have gone through some of these experiences, that will weigh heavy for many.”

Prime Minister, every abortion results in a dead baby. How can we debate your Bill when you refuse to acknowledge that abortion kills an innocent human being?

Right to Life sympathises with the Prime Minister, it is very disturbing to see pictures of the dismembered and bloodied bodies of children who have been violently killed.
Right to Life believes that if we are going to engage in a respectful and informed debate about abortion it is important to consider the objective of abortion. Every abortion results in a violently killed child.

Justice Minister Andrew Little also objected to the use of such images.

“New Zealanders on average have a low level of tolerance for that sort of extremism. If these people want to go around upsetting the rest of New Zealand, that’s their call.”
Minister, why is it extreme to graphically depict the results of your ill -conceived abortion Bill? Is it not your Bill that is extreme? Is It not you and your extreme abortion  Bill that is upsetting the rest of New Zealand?

“We are the unborn, we are the weakest and most defenceless members of our human family. Prime Minister and Minister of Justice, why do you want to kill us, why are you not protecting us?

From the moment of conception we are human beings endowed with an inalienable right to life. We come to bless our nation, we want to love and be loved. You choose not to hear our silent scream, as the abortionist forces his way into our home intent on violently killing us. You do not hear our voice so let the graphic pictures of our bloodied and dismembered bodies speak to you.”

Ken Orr,
Spokesperson,
Right to Life

Parliament Abandons Protecting Women & Unborn Children

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Last night Parliament shamefully passed the Abortion Legislation Bill by 81 to 39
Parliament believes that the unborn child is not a human being and has no right to life until it is born. That the unborn child is a chattel and is the property of the mother. That it is not a crime to kill an unborn child and that It may be killed as “a reproductive health choice.”


The State has a duty to protect the lives of every member of the community from conception to natural death. It has a special duty to protect the unborn who are the weakest and most defenceless member of our human family.

Right to Life commends those Members who spoke in the debate and voted in defence of women and the right to life of their unborn and in opposition to this appalling anti-women and anti-life Bill.

This is a sad day for women and their precious unborn who have an absolute right to have the love and protection of the community to do everything possible to protect the life of her child.

Justice Minister Andrew Little objected to the use of graphic pictures by pro-life demonstrators at Parliament yesterday, saying “New Zealanders on average have a low level of tolerance for that sort of extremism. If these people want to go around upsetting the rest of New Zealand, that’s their call.” Right to Life agrees the real life pictures of bloodied and dismembered unborn children is very upsetting. We hope that the Minister is upset. We believe that he is in denial. He needs to understand that abortion is violence against the weakest and most defenceless member of our human family.

Mother and child have had the protection of the Crimes Act section 182, Killing an Unborn Child, since 1856. Parliament has now cruelly withdrawn that protection.

It is a sad commentary on our Parliament that the lives of our unborn children are considered of little value and have little protection while we give absolute protection for eight endangered birds. An offence endangering the lives of these birds could result in two years imprisonment or a fine up to $100,000.

There are fifty endangered species that include the Katipo spider, weasels and beetles.

The Wildlife Act 1953 Section 67A states that it is an offence punishable by up to 6 months in prison and/or a fine of up to $100,000 plus $5000 per extra head of wildlife or egg disturbed or destroyed.

Why does the Katipo spider have absolute protection for its life while our own unborn children have absolutely no protection?

The Bill now awaits its third reading.

Ken Orr
Spokesperson,
Right to Life

Is the Prime Minister Serious about Opposing Child Abuse?

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The Prime Minister, Jacinda Ardern is to be commended for deploring the appalling violence inflicted on a defenceless four year old boy in Flaxmere, Hastings. “I know we are a country that wants all our children to live free from violence – but that is going to continue to take our ongoing effort and commitment,” Ardern said.

Prime Minister how can you say in seriousness, that you want all of our children to live free from violence when you yourself are promoting violence against our most vulnerable children by decriminalising abortion and saying that it is no longer a crime to kill an unborn child. The life of every child commences at conception, a simply and indisputable biological fact. The most dangerous place for a child today is in its mother’s womb. Why are you concerned only with violence against born children?

The worst violence that can be inflicted on a defenceless child is to be violently dismembered in its mother’s womb by a doctor who is committed to his destruction. How can you say that you are opposed to violence against children who are born but refuse to acknowledge that the violent dismemberment of a child in the womb is violence, in fact you are calling this appalling violence, health care.

The Hon Tracey Martin, Minister for Children in response to the Hasting’s vicious assault stated, “This violence against our children is what we need to address as a country and what I’m trying to address as Minister.“The Minister is opposed to violence against the born child but is not opposed to violence against the defenceless unborn. The Minister has to accept responsibility for allowing the Abortion Legislation Bill being signed off by cabinet and presented to Parliament in August 2019. She could have killed this Bill dead if she had wanted to. It should be known that the Minister believes that the killing of an unborn child is not a crime and is “a reproductive choice for women”.

During the years 2006 to 2016 a total of 61 children died from neglect and maltreatment in New Zealand. Since the Contraception Sterilisation and Abortion Act was passed in 1977 more than 500,000 innocent and defenceless children have been murdered in their mother’s womb. Right to Life will never stop exposing this as a crime against humanity, no matter if this government declares that this killing is ‘health care’.

The Prime Minister seeks re-election for a further three years. It is with sadness and horror that we expect that during a further term of three years that the Prime Minister holds office more than 40,000 children in the womb will be cruelly murdered as a health service. This with the approval of her government and funded by funds set aside in her government’s budget specifically for this purpose.

New Zealanders need to know that Jacinda Ardern is the prime driver of removing existing protections for our unborn children through a bill that she is directly responsible for, the dreadful Abortion Legislation Bill.

Ken Orr,
Spokesperson,
Right to Life

Select Committee Supports Empowering Women to Kill their Unborn Children

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Media Release 14 February 2020

Agnes Loheni, a member of the Select Committee opposed the passage of the Abortion Legislation Bill and has warned that, “this Bill if enacted will severely breach and irreparably damage the “sanctity of life” principle which has been the cornerstone of New Zealand’s common law. She called for a Royal Commission of enquiry to investigate into whether there is a need for changes to New Zealand’s abortion legislation. Right to Life fully supports this call for a Royal Commission.

Right to Life is concerned that the  Special Abortion Legislation Select Committee in reporting to Parliament is in support for the passing of this draconian anti-life and anti-feminist Labour led government legislation which would decriminalise abortion making the killing of unborn children a ‘reproductive health choice. The Bill achieves the following outcomes-

  • It denies the humanity of the unborn child.
  • It denies the child’s inalienable God given right to life.
  • It grants property rights to the mother over her child.
  • It declares that it is no longer a crime to kill an unborn child.
  • It grants the “right” of the mother to terminate the life of her child,
  • It violates the conscience rights of doctors not to be involved in the killing of their unborn patients.
  • It violates the right of free speech and assembly of those who seek to offer help to women seeking an abortion or to pray within 150 metres of a killing centre.

The Prime Minister, Jacinda Ardern, must accept responsibility for this Bill as she is passionately committed to ’empowering’ women with the right to kill their children before they are born. It was she who directed the Minister of Justice, Andrew Little, in February 2018, to proceed to seek advice from the Law Commission to advise how to remove the killing of the unborn from the Crimes Act and make it a health issue.  The Minister was careful to instruct the Commission not to review the current legislation nor to review the findings of the Royal Commission which had accepted that the unborn child was a human being from conception and deserved respect and protection.

This Labour led government orchestrated from the start, the appointment of a staunch pro-abortion select committee. One that would support the killing of the unborn as a health service and one that has shamefully and faithfully followed the example of the Nazi regime that before it launched genocide against the Jews first legislated to deny the humanity of the Jews and then to deny their human rights.

The Select Committee has rejected the 25,776 written submissions, 91% of which were opposed to the decriminalisation of abortion.

The Committee has also rejected the petitions of 15,407 of Right to Life and the petition of 13,268 of Gina Sunderland opposing the decriminalisation of abortion.

The Committee has also rejected the findings of the poll conducted by Curia Marketing Services conducted in September 2019 which revealed that 65% of those polled believed that the unborn child was a human being before it was born. A total of 55% of those polled recognised that the unborn child was endowed with human rights before it was born.
The unborn child is the weakest and most defenceless member of the human family. Every child is a unique and unrepeatable miracle of God’s loving creation, it should be received with the dignity due to the human person.

Parliament will now have its second reading of this highly contentious and ill -conceived bill. Right to Life requests that Parliament maintain the protection of the Crimes Act for women and their precious unborn by defeating this bill at its second reading. Our future depends upon it.

Ken Orr,
Spokesperson,
Right to Life

Jacinda Ardern- Unborn Child – Not One of Us

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It is not good enough that Jacinda Ardern who claims to be promoting an inclusive society, specifically excludes the unborn child, the weakest and most defenceless member of the human family.

On 15 March on the terrible day that 51 Muslims were brutally murdered at two Christchurch Mosques the Prime Minister was commendably quick to proclaim to the nation and the international community our inclusiveness by declaring, “that they are us.”

Prime Minister every day an estimated thirty-five unborn children are massacred not in mosques, but in our Public Hospitals, their killing authorised and funded by your government, Prime Minister. Instead of speaking out on their behalf you are at the forefront of ensuring their destruction. Why? Are they not us too?

Right to Life believes that the Prime Minister is not only opposed to the rights of the unborn, but she is also is opposed to the rights of men. Authentic feminism is opposed to abortion. Under the guise of being a feminist she is at the forefront of empowering women with the “right” to kill their unborn children.

In her address in Parliament in support of her Abortion Legislation Bill she said that, “abortion should not be a crime.” It is her belief that the unborn child is not a human being and does not have human rights until it is born. This is a legal fiction that flies in the face of all medical science that recognises that human life begins at conception.

Jacinda Ardern is the first Prime Minister in the history of New Zealand who has stood up in Parliament and denied that the unborn child is not one of us. She believes the child is not a human being, that it does not have a right to life and may be killed as “a reproductive choice for women.”

What about the reproductive rights of men? In her address she completely ignored men, making no reference to the rights of fathers. Fathers have a right to be heard in the defence of the lives of their children. Unborn children have an absolute right to have the protection of their fathers for their lives threatened by abortion.

Prime Minister you should be aware that your draconian anti-life bill threatens the trust of men in women to protect the lives of the unborn children that they father and will ultimately destroy the family of exclusively one man and one women.

Abortion is a failed experiment on women. Prime Minister stop victimising women because you don’t care enough to offer these women love, acceptance and positive life affirming help.

The pro-abortion movement was founded by men to exploit women. It is a clever and diabolical strategy for men who support the subjugation of women to use prominent women like our Prime Minister to promote the decriminalisation of abortion.

Abortion betrays the basic feminist principles of nonviolence, non -discrimination and justice for all. Abortion is a reflection that we have not met the needs of women and that women have settled for less. Women deserve better.

Prime Minister we need real abortion reform that will protect both women and the unborn by firstly retaining abortion as a crime in the Crimes Act and secondly repealing section 159 of the Crimes Act and recognising that every unborn child from conception is a unique and unrepeatable miracle of creation, endowed with an inalienable right to life.

Ken Orr,
Spokesperson,
Right to Life

Abortion Referendum Please

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The following article is a guest post from the Average Thief Blog

New Zealand should have three referenda later this year, not two.  There will be referenda on the “conscience issues” of euthanasia (End of Life Choice Bill) and the legalisation of cannabis.  There should also be a referendum for the most difficult conscience issue of all – widely increased access to abortion (Abortion Legislation Bill).

The Government wants New Zealanders to pretend that abortion is not a conscience issue: the effect of the Abortion Legislation Bill is to rebrand abortion as a “health issue”.  According to this view, the pregnant woman is the only person involved: the embryo/foetus is just a mass; the woman suffers from a condition (pregnancy) that is resolved by removing the mass.

It is not necessary here to describe how ludicrous and repulsive this view is; it is enough to point out that it is highly contentious – probably the most contentious moral issue most of us have ever encountered.  Many New Zealanders consider the embryo/foetus to be either a human being or, in terms of its potential, “human enough” to require serious recognition and protection.

The pretence that this morally highly contentious issue is not a conscience issue at all is nothing short of dishonest – and should be rejected out of hand, not only in the interests of reason and common sense but also as a protest against that dishonesty.

This dishonesty was reinforced by the decision to exclude men (so far as possible) from membership of the Select Committee and by the Select Committee’s decision that submitters who oppose the Bill altogether (seeing no way to tweak it into decent shape) would not be permitted to appear before the Committee.  Only those who support increased access to abortion were granted the privilege of a hearing.  To use the machinery of our democracy to reduce public access to democratic processes is profoundly wrong.

As the Bill is not yet law, it remains for Parliament to decide whether abortion is a conscience issue or a health issue.  For that reason, Parliament might (or might not) decide that the decision whether or not to pass the Bill is indeed a “conscience issue” and allow MPs a “personal vote” rather than a “party vote”.  However, Parliament could also make a far better decision – put the matter to a referendum, along with euthanasia and cannabis.

There are compelling reasons why the issue should be resolved by referendum:

1)      It is completely ridiculous to have a referendum on euthanasia, which allows a person to take their own life or to agree to be killed, and not to have a referendum on abortion which, according to many of us, allows a human being to be killed without their consent.  Our law-making processes should not be ridiculous.

2)      A referendum involves voting by secret ballot.  However, when MPs cast a “personal vote”, they do so visibly, without the protection of secrecy.  There may have been times when an MP’s conscience was safe from scrutiny and condemnation – he or she could express a conscientious objection with impunity.  Certainly, this is not the case now.  We see all around us that the ideologies of wokeness govern not only the law but also morality, and are equally dogmatic, condemning and unforgiving in both settings.  We see that a conscientious objection to any woke dictate is “wrong” and is punished severely – for example, by crippling the objector’s career.  MPs are no exception, they are ring-barked by wokeness in general and by hardline feminism in particular.  They are not free, as perhaps they once were, to vote according to their conscience.  We citizen voters are not as yet under siege to the same extent; and, anyhow, we have the security of a secret ballot.  So, the issue should be left to us.

Abortion on demand is a conscience issue that should be addressed by those who are still free to vote with their conscience – the electorate, in a referendum.

This is the website of Right to Life NZ Inc.
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