Right to Life New Zealand

Upholding the sanctity of life in New Zealand and Standing Against the Killing

Letter to Winston Peters and NZ First MP’s

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11 July 2019

Rt. Hon. Winston Peters MP,

Dear Minister,

I am writing to you in defence of our precious unborn and their mothers who are under an unprecedented attack.

The State has a serious duty to protect the lives of all members of the human family. The option preferred by the Minister of Justice would remove this protection.  It is contended that in upholding your commendable policy opposing the decriminalisation of abortion and acting in the best interests of the unborn and their mothers, NZ First should refrain from supporting this bill through cabinet and oppose the bill at its first and any subsequent readings. Any bill that seeks to make the killing of the defenceless unborn “a reproductive health service” represents an unprecedented attack on the sanctity of life.  

Right to Life commends NZ First for its defence of the lives of our precious unborn and their mothers. We are aware that NZ First is the only party in Parliament that has a policy to oppose the decriminalisation of abortion. I recall that at the Family First Conference in Auckland in 2014 when you were interviewed by Bob McCoskrie, you stated that “abortions should be legal, safe and rare”. You were asked if you supported the Green’s policy of decriminalising abortion, you replied “no we don’t”. You then said that you believed that life began at conception and that the child had a right to life.

It is reported in the media that your caucus is committed to supporting a bill through cabinet that would remove the killing of the unborn by abortion from the Crimes Act and make the killing of the unborn “a reproductive choice for women”. It is the wish of the Prime Minister to remove the stigma associated with the killing of the unborn and to make the killing of the child no longer a crime, but a health service.

The sanctity of life of the unborn and its right to life are protected under the Crimes Act section 182 Killing unborn child and section 183 Procuring abortion by any means. It is a serious crime to kill a child in the womb. Every- one who violates these sections is liable to imprisonment for up to 14 years. This legal protection has been there since 1856, we change it at our peril. 

The Royal Commission in its report to Parliament in 1977 said, on upholding the status of the unborn child. “The unborn child as one of the weakest, the most vulnerable and most defenceless forms of humanity, should receive protection. From a biological point of view there is no argument as to when life begins. Evidence was given to us by eminent scientists from all over the world. None of them suggested that human life begins at any other time than at conception.” In rejecting the argument that some degree of development should be reached before the unborn child be accorded status, the Commission said, “If some stage of physical or mental development has to be accepted as indicating whether or not human life is in being, so a stage may be reached at the other end of life where a person who has become senile or has lost consciousness may be disposed of.”

The unborn child is the weakest and most defenceless member of the human family and needs special legal protection. Every day in New Zealand nearly thirty-five children in the womb are violently destroyed and their mothers the second victim of abortion, are left with a life time of grief and sorrow. Our women deserve better.

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.

If we as a society deny the humanity of the unborn, then logically we will one day deny the humanity of those who are suffering from dementia and Alzheimer’s. The denial of the humanity and right to life of the unborn is a threat to the right to life of every citizen.

The decriminalisation of abortion will;

  • Allow for sex selection abortions, which are currently unlawful.
  • Allow for abortion up to birth for babies with a disabiliy including Down Syndrome.
  • Not protect women seeking an abortion because they are subject to violence and coercion.

In conclusion, Right to Life requests that you withdraw support for the decriminalisation of abortion and that you use your influence to have the current unlawful abortion on demand stopped. Please promote adoption as a loving option.

Thank you for all that you are doing to defend life, protecting women from the violence of abortion and promoting the common good.

Yours sincerely,

Ken Orr

Secretary.

Is the government really concerned about violence against women?

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In the open letter to the Prime Minister on the front page of the NZ Herald on Sunday 16 December, there were calls for the government to adopt a comprehensive strategy to prevent and end violence against women and to to allocate adequete resources to, “Ensure that every woman in Aotearoa New Zealand has access to culturally appropriate domestic and sexual violence support and healing services when and where they need it”. 
Right to Life contends that an important first step to this objective is for the government to reject its current proposal to decriminalise abortion and to instead promote adoption, as an appropriate response. For surely, when lethal violence – against a pre-born (female) child – is seen as the default government funded solution to the problem of an unplanned pregnancy, then it is nothing but hypocrisy for the government to be talking about a “comprehensive strategy to prevent and end violence against women.

Right to Life fe is opposed to all violence against at women at all stages of life and fully supports this open letter. Right to Life commends the Prime Minister for opposing violence against born women but must ask why does she not recognise the killing of the unborn as violence against both women and their defenceless unborn?

New Zealand is a violent country. We have some of the worst statistics for sexual violence, domestic violence and violence against women in the OECD.

To our shame, on average thirteen women are murdered each year in New Zealand. Our Police respond to an incident of domestic abuse every five and a half minutes. Eighty per cent of domestic violence goes unreported. Why are we so violent?

Abortion is the ultimate in domestic violence and violence against women. Each and every day  35 women are violated by an abortionist and 35 unborn children are killed. In a surgical abortion, the abortionist violently forces his way into the womb of a woman for the purpose of stopping a beating heart and dismembering her child by tearing off its arms and legs. This preventable violence is sanctioned and funded by the government. The government is currently deceiving women by promoting this killing as a human right, a health service and a “reproductive health choice for women”. How many of these women are victims of male violence and are being coerced by threats of violence and abandonment? These are the men who see women as sexual objects, who are there for their gratification, men who have rejected the Creator’s plan for procreation and demand abortion as a backup for failed contraception.

New Zealand is grieving and mourning the death of Grace Millane cruelly murdered in Auckland. Her violent killing has touched the heart and conscience of the nation. A beautiful young woman with her whole life before her, trusting that she would be safe in our country, has had that trust shattered as she is taken from us on the eve of her twenty-second birthday. This is an appalling tragedy.

But so is the fact that every day in New Zealand an estimated eighteen women are violently killed in their mother’s womb.

Right to Life believes that the fundamental reason for violence against women by men is because women are increasingly sexualised as objects of male gratification. Women have an intrinsic dignity conferred on them by their Creator as the creator of new life. Mothers are the heart of the home for the natural family, comprising exclusively one man and one woman. It is the duty of men to be the protector of women and children. When men lose respect for women and see them as sexual objects, there for their gratification, respect quickly turns to violence and abandonment.

Ken Orr
Spokesperson,
Right to Life

Is Andrew Little in breach of the Treaty of Waitangi?

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Media Release 3 December 2018

In an unprecedented attack on the sanctity of life of the unborn the Prime Minister, Jacinda Ardern and the Minister of Justice propose that the killing of children before birth should not be a crime.

 The Minister of Justice, Andrew Little, at the direction of the Prime Minister proposes to amend the Crimes Act to remove women and their unborn from the protection of the Crimes Act. This Act provides legal protection for women and unborn children against the violence of abortion, it also protects the right to life of the unborn, which has been in the Crimes Act since 1856.

 Right to Life believes that the decriminalisation of abortion would be a breach of the Treaty of Waitangi and requests our submission be referred to the Waitangi Tribunal for a decision on this matter.

 Right to Life wrote to the Minister of Maori Development, the Hon. Nanaia Mahuta, in June 2018, requesting that she refer our submission to the Waitangi Tribunal for a decision, but she refused to do this, stating it would be inappropriate.

The Minister of Justice proposes that there would be no statutory test until 22 weeks of pregnancy. After 22 weeks pregnancy, the health practitioner intending to perform an abortion would need to be satisfied the abortion is appropriate in the circumstances, having regard to the women’s physical and mental health and wellbeing.

Right to Life believes that this represents a complete withdrawal by the government of protection for women and their unborn from the violence of abortion, including Maori. In the view of Right to Life, this would be a breach of Article Three of the Treaty of Waitangi.

Jacinda Ardern proposes that abortion, the killing of the unborn, should be taken out of the Crimes Act and treated as a reproductive issue of choice for women. It is her belief, and that of her government, that the killing of unborn children, those in Te Whare Tamariki, before birth, should not be a crime.

When the Treaty was signed at Waitangi in 1840, the Crown gave an assurance that Maori people would have the Queen’s protection and all the rights and privileges of British subjects.

We believe the protection of the Crown for the Maori people included the protection for the right to life of Maori from the beginning of pregnancy until death, which was provided by the common law of England and in the New Zealand Crimes Act since 1856.

For the government acting as the Crown to withdraw this protection for Maori women and their unborn would, in our view, be a serious violation of the Treaty.

Section 182. “Killing Unborn Child” of The Crimes Act provides protection for the life of the unborn including Maori. It is a serious crime to kill an unborn child and on conviction a person may be imprisoned for a term up to 14 years. Section 183. “Procuring abortion by any means” prohibits unlawful abortion, this is also a serious crime and every one on conviction, is liable to imprisonment for a term not exceeding 14 years. This section also states that; “the woman or girl shall not be charged as a party to an offence against this section.” It would be a great injustice for the government to remove this protection.

Why do Jacinda Ardern and Andrew Little believe that it should not be a crime to kill an innocent and defenceless unborn child, by abortion?

It is the government’s intention to make it no longer a crime to kill an unborn child in an abortion. Those children who are classified as unwanted will be taken out of the Crimes Act in order that they may be killed as a health service as a “reproductive choice for women” These children will lose the protection of the Crown.

The decriminalisation of abortion would be a violation of the human rights of unborn children and an attack on the dignity of all mothers, including Maori mothers.

It would be a declaration from the Crown that we have no interest in protecting the life of your child or protecting you from the violence of abortion, that your child is your property and it is your choice whether your child lives or dies.

The abortion rate for Maori is disturbingly high. In 2017 there were 3,111 abortions on Maori women, 23.4% of the total of 13,285 abortions reported in New Zealand.

Right to Life believes that if abortion is decriminalised, it will result in more pressure and coercion imposed on Maori women to terminate the lives of their child by the father of the child, who may abandon the mother if she does not have an abortion.

Ken Orr

Spokesperson,

Right to Life.

Abortion Violence is Not a Health Issue Jacinda Ardern

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The state has a duty to protect women and their unborn from violence. In 1856 the New Zealand Parliament recognised that abortion was violence against both women and the unborn and made abortion unlawful under the Crimes Act, Part VIII Crimes against the Person. Abortion was recognised as a serious crime in the Common Law of England. 

The Labour led government of Jacinda Ardern under the guise of empowering women is proposing to decriminalise abortion and disguise the violence by calling it a “health service” this is not empowerment but slavery. 

Abortion is not health care. The government’s proposal is a shameful abandonment of women and will expose women to increased violence. This cruel deception of women perpetrated by the government is deceiving women into believing that their unborn child has no value and that the state has no interest in protecting her or her defenceless unborn. Their claim is that, when we kill an unborn child, we do no harm as it is not a human being and it therefore has no rights.

Vulnerable women will be exposed to increased coercion, physical and sexual violence from the father of their children who will be empowered to impose pressure on women to terminate the life of their children. This is because for the many women who are facing coercion to abort their child against their will, they will, if abortion is no longer a crime, have even less power to resist the coercion of the father or those pushing them in the direction of killing. Arguments such as “it’s only a health issue”, will be used against the mother. [Read more…]

Formal Complaint Against Newsroom Re Abortion Article Bias

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Image result for media biasMr Mark Jennings,

Co-Editor,

Newsroom

Dear Mr Jennings

Formal Complaint

I wish to lodge a complaint against the article titled “ Labour moves to legalise abortion” written by Thomas Coughlan and published on 16 February 2018. My complaint is that the article breached the Press Council’s Principle 1. Accuracy, Fairness and Balance.

Accuracy

Terry Bellamak, an American lady from Arizona, President of ALRANZ advocates for the removal of all grounds from abortion. She claims that “we trust women to make their own decisions about their own bodies.” I believe in fairness it should have been mentioned that this “reform” would remove the prohibition to have an abortion on the grounds that the child was the wrong sex. This usually means that if the child was female it would be killed. This is the ultimate discrimination against women. It would also mean that the restriction on killing the unborn with minor disabilities would be revoked, this would mean increased discrimination against the disabled. It would also mean that more babies with Down syndrome would be killed as is happening in Europe where an estimated 90 per cent are killed before birth. It is estimated that in New Zealand at present 60 per cent are killed

The article states that doctors objecting to perform abortions may refuse on the grounds of conscience and are not required to advise the patient. This is incorrect, the doctor is obliged to inform the women why he is refusing to be in any way involved with the termination of the life of a child in utero. Section 43 of the CS & A Act 1977 gives conscience protection to all medical practitioners nurses and other hospital personnel from doing anything to facilitate an abortion. This even includes staff employed to prepare surgical equipment to be used in a surgical abortion. [Read more…]

Where Have All Our Children Gone?

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where have all the children goneMedia Release Wednesday 31st January 2018

This week our nation should be in mourning for our missing children who will never go through the school gates. They have been deprived of their lives in the ‘sanctuary’ of their mother’s womb.

”I will never know the tides of time; For I was coming but unloved, and that my only crime. Nameless am I, a grain of sand One of the countless dead, but the deed that make me ashen grey, floats on seas of red.” [Ballad of the Unborn Child]

Nearly 10,000 5 year olds will commence their schooling  this week, happy and laughing, full of the joy of life. A total of 50,000 5 year olds are expected during the four terms of 2018. Sadly around 13,170 who would have been the same age are missing. What would have been there joy and laughter replaced by a deathly silence. This represents nearly 526 empty class rooms. What a loss to our nation. They join the ranks of the 500,000 children who have been murdered in their mother’s womb since 1977. These are the children who were considered of little worth and whose lives were terminated by abortion. These are the nameless and whose only record of existence is a cold statistic in the Abortion Supervisory Committee’s annual report to Parliament of 2014.

[Read more…]

When Are We going to get Serious about Child Abuse?

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Media Release  Tue 9th May 2017

Image result for child abuse and abortionRight to Life asks when is the government really going to get serious about child abuse and recognise that it begins in the womb? Why is a preschool teacher convicted as a criminal for lightly smacking a child’s hand, while a doctor who violently kills thousands of children in the womb is granted a knighthood by the Queen for services to women?

A 59 year old preschool teacher and day care manager was found guilty in the High Court in Auckland on Wednesday, 3rd of May of 10 charges of assaulting children in her care. Six of the charges were for smacking a child on the back of the hand. In defence, the accused claimed that she had not smacked a child but had merely tapped the child on the hand. The defendant was released on bail and was remanded to appear in the Court in July for sentencing. The complaints had been laid by the Education Department which was pleased with the verdict. The prosecutor stated that the smacking was “gratuitous violence.” The teacher now has a criminal conviction for assaulting children; has justice been done? This sad case highlights the hypocrisy of our claim that we care about our children. On one hand we have the Ministry of Education having these charges brought to Court to protect children from a light smack or tap on the back of the hand. on the other hand we have the Ministry of Health providing a “termination of pregnancy service” to violently murder more than 13,000  unborn children each year.  Something is badly wrong. [Read more…]

Letters – Abortion Connection to Rape and Domestic Violence

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Image result for cover up of rape by abortion Hon Dr Jonathan Coleman,

Minister of Health,

Parliament Building,

Wellington.

Dear Dr Coleman

Domestic Violence and Abortion Official Information Act Request

In 2010 Right to Life supported the call of the Abortion Supervisory Committee [ASC] for research in New Zealand on the relationship of domestic violence and abortion. The Committee’s call was made in its annual report to Parliament for 2009.

I wish to request under the Official Information Act a copy of your response to the Committee’s request made in its report to Parliament in 2009 for more research into the relationship between abortion and domestic violence?

The Committee reported that information provided by the Epsom Day Unit revealed that one third of women seeking an abortion at the Unit are subject to domestic violence. Right to Life believes that the incidence of domestic violence is actually much higher as it is believed that many women are too afraid and ashamed to admit that they are victims of domestic violence.

Epsom Day Unit is the busiest Abortion Clinic in New Zealand, in 2009 it reported the performance of 5,380 abortions. It is believed that the experience of domestic violence at Epsom Day Clinic reflects the domestic violence that is being observed in all the nation’s Abortion Clinics and hospitals. We are aware that a similar study was conducted by the Waikato District Health Board in 2005

[Read more…]

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