Right to Life New Zealand

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

Government of Jacinda Ardern supports War on Women and unborn children

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Media Release 10 March 2021. 

Right to Life is disappointed that Parliament has shamefully passed the Contraception, Sterilisation and Abortion [Safe Areas] Amendment Bill of Louisa Wall  by 100 to 15 votes at its first reading.

Right to Life believes that this bill is a disgraceful farce, it seeks to deal with a problem that does not exist. It also violates our right to free speech and assembly, guaranteed by the NZ Bill of Rights.

The real architects of this bill are the Prime Minister and the Minister of Health, Hon Andrew Little. It is a  subterfuge for the government to direct a back bench MP to present highly contentious government policy as a private members bill with the intention of preventing criticism of the government.

Right to Life believes that the bill has no place in our Parliament. There is absolutely no need for this legislation as there is no evidence of harassment or intimidation. There is, however, substantial evidence of women seeking help at abortion facilities from peaceful law abiding and caring citizens in their hour of need to choose life for their child. Why does the government wish to deprive women of the opportunity of being  ministered to by women?

Why is the government ignoring the Law Commission, on safe zones?

The Law Commission advised ”At this time The Commission does not see a strong case for this.”

Right to Life believes that the citizens of New Zealand should be aware of the undisclosed agenda of the Prime Minister and her government. Right to Life believes that the government seeks:-

·       To normalise the killing of the unborn, it is no longer a crime, it is now  a “reproductive health service”

·       To distract attention away from the violence inflicted on women and the unborn in the killing centres

·       To ultimately prohibit any person praying outside a killing centre or offering assistance to a woman to choose life for her child

·       To create the illusion that the killing centre and its environs are a safe area for women

It is a cruel deception to entice women to enter an abortion facility with the lie that it offers a safe haven.

It does not, it offers a cruel and violent death to the unborn and a lifetime of grief and pain for the woman.

The government funds the abortion industry, an essential and a core health service, it has unlimited funding and no waiting list. It employs doctors and nurses to kill the innocent and defenceless unborn New Zealanders and it is determined to prohibit and remove with the assistance of our Police force, those who oppose the killing and the violence inflicted on women and whose presence might deter women from not proceeding to an abortion that she has probably been coerced to seek.

Right to Life encourages defenders of women and their precious unborn to make a written submission to the  Health Select Committee opposing this dangerous bill at its second reading.

Ken Orr,

Spokesperson,

Right to Life

ProLife Bulletin No 383

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Prolife Bulletin 383

Right to Life OIA to Jacinda Ardern

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9 January 2019

Right. Hon Jacinda Ardern,

Prime Minister,

Dear Prime Minister,

Official Information Act –Request.

At the Newstalk ZB’s Leader’s Breakfast just prior to the election you made the following statement.

“Yes I think abortion should come out of the Crimes Act, that does not mean for a moment that I am proposing what has been claimed, that you should be able to have on-demand abortion to birth. No that is absolutely not what I am saying. We of course must regulate… We have time periods already set out in the law and I am not proposing changes to that. I am proposing it comes out of the Crimes Act.”

The restriction of 20 weeks gestation is included in the Crimes Act section 187A and stipulates that abortions after 20 weeks may be authorised if;

“the person doing the act believes that the miscarriage is necessary to save the life of the woman or girl or to prevent serious permanent injury to her physical or mental health.”

Curia Market Research an independent pollster released in January 2018, polling of 1,013, just 9% support the current legal limit for an abortion of 20 weeks. Only 4% believe it should be later than 20 weeks, including up to birth. 50% think the time limit should be shorter than the current 20 weeks, and a further 36% were unsure. The median choice of those who did choose a time limit was 15 weeks.

Significantly, 56% of women think the time limit should be less than the current 20 weeks. And incredibly, 53% of those who generally support abortion think the time limit should be less than the current 20 weeks – 29% of abortion supporters say 10 weeks or less.

I wish to request under the Official Information Act the following information;

  • Is it still your policy to retain a restriction on abortions imposed at 20 weeks gestation in the Crimes Act section 187A in your proposed legislation to decriminalise abortion?
  • Is it your policy to accept dismemberment abortions that permit an abortionist to tear the arms, legs and head off an unborn child?
  • Is it your policy to ensure that babies born alive from 22 weeks gestation following an abortion receive anti-natal care to protect their life?
  • Is it your policy to support adoption in preference to abortion and if so what action is your government taking to promote adoption?                                                                                                                                                        

Yours sincerely

Ken Orr

Secretary

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.

Law Commission’s Law Review Betrays Women and the Unborn

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Media Release 26 October 2018

The Law Commission’s report portrays a day of infamy, betrayal, shameful injustice and the denial of the dignity of women and of motherhood. It is also a callous denial of the humanity of our precious unborn and their inalienable right to life. Shame on this government that tramples on the human rights of our precious unborn and the right of women to be protected from the violence of abortion, it has forfeited its right to govern.

The report of the Law Commission on recommendations for taking abortion law out of the Crimes Act and treating it as a health issue, was presented to the Minister of Justice. The review had been requested by the Prime Minister, Jacinda Ardern, who has abandoned protecting women.

The government has no mandate from the people of New Zealand to remove women and their unborn from the protection of the Crimes Act. There is to be no public consultation or debate about the contents of the review prior to the government presenting a bill to Parliament.

The Law Commission have advised Right to Life under the Official Information Act that there were 3,419 submissions received on the review of the abortion laws in New Zealand. There were 1,677 submissions opposed to removing women and their unborn children from the protection of the Crimes Act, which since 1856 has recognised the killing of an unborn child in an abortion as a serious crime and violence against women. There were only 603 submissions that supported making the killing of an unborn child in abortions a health issue and a choice for women. The authentic feminist position is to oppose the decriminalisation of abortion.

A huge majority of the submissions, 69 %, were opposed to the decriminalisation of abortion, with 49 % specifically supporting retaining abortion in the Crimes Act with an additional 20% supporting legal protection for the child in the womb. The remaining 13% did not address the issue of decriminalisation.

The three legal models presented by the Commission represent an unprecedented attack on the sanctity of life of the unborn child, the weakest and most defenceless member of our human family. These proposals constitute an unprincipled denial of the humanity of the child in the womb.

The models proposed provide for the unborn, deemed by the mother as unwanted, to be removed from the protection of the Crimes Act, Part VIII Crimes against the person which recognises abortion as violence against the mother and the unborn. It states that abortion is a serious crime that on conviction the accused may be imprisoned for up to 14 years. The models provide for the killing of the unborn, effectively up to birth, to be a reproductive health issue of choice for the woman.

It will then be no longer a crime to kill an unborn child, but a health service. This is a blatant lie perpetrated on women.

It is the duty of the state to protect the lives of every member of our community from conception to natural death and not to preside over their destruction. The decriminalisation of abortion will allow the government to declare that they have no interest in protecting the lives of New Zealanders in the first nine months of their lives and that they are prepared to  preside over their destruction.

The Law Commission proposes that doctors “who do not wish to provide health services in connection with abortion because of a conscientious objection to refer women to someone who can provide the service.” The unborn child is a patient and doctors have an absolute right to refuse to be involved in the killing of another human being.

The government admits that it has no evidence to substantiate the claim that in a modern society it should not be a crime to kill an unborn child.The government intends to replace truth and justice with personal opinion, which is the basis of the advocacy of the Prime Minister, Jacinda Ardern and the Hon. Andrew Little for the decriminalisation of abortion.

Right to Life requests that the Labour Party return to the high social principles of its founders to uphold the sanctity of life ethic and to protect the lives of the most vulnerable members of our community.

Ken Orr

Spokesperson,

Right to Life

Overwhelming support for retaining protection of the Crimes Act for the lives of women and the unborn

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Media Release 14 October 2018

A huge majority, 69 %, were opposed to the decriminalisation of abortion, with 49 % specifically supporting retaining abortion in the Crimes Act with an additional 20% supporting legal protection for the child in the womb. The remaining 31% did not address the issue of decriminalisation.

The Law Commission have advised Right to Life under the Official Information Act that there were 3,419 submissions received on the review of the abortion laws in New Zealand. There were 1,677 submissions opposed to removing women and their unborn children from the protection of the Crimes Act which since 1856 has recognised the killing of an unborn child in an abortion as a serious crime and violence against women. There were only 603 submissions that supported making the killing of an unborn child in abortions a health issue and a choice for women. The authentic feminist position is to oppose the decriminalisation of abortion.

There were 1,139 submissions that did not address this issue, of these 671 expressed support for legal protection for the lives of unborn children. The Minister of Justice at the direction of the Prime Minister Jacinda Ardern had requested the Commission on February 27 to provide advice, “how best to make changes to ensure New Zealand’s abortion laws are consistent with treating abortion as a health issue that is a reproductive choice for women, rather than as a criminal issue.” The Commission was to give no consideration to the sanctity of life of the unborn and the right to life nor to comment on the duty of the state to protect the lives of our unborn.  

The overwhelming opposition to decriminalisation expressed in these submissions provides a clear message to the Prime Minister and her government that they do not have a mandate from the people of New Zealand to remove the protection of the law for the lives of vulnerable women and their unborn children.

The people of New Zealand should be aware that the government is using the Law Commission review as a subterfuge to give legitimacy to Jacinda Ardern’s unprecedented attack on women and their precious unborn, she is determined to inflict on women the appalling lie that women have a “right” to kill their own children as an issue of choice.

Prime Minister, as a loving mother with a beautiful child, you are aware in every fibre of your being that the killing of a defenceless child in the womb is an unspeakable crime. Why are you not at the forefront in opposing the decriminalisation of abortion.

Right to Life lodged Official Information Act requests with the Minister of Justice and the Prime Minister asking what “ information that you have that would justify changing the law to make it no longer a crime to kill an unborn child in an abortion.” The reply from the Prime Minister was that there was no evidence.

The Minister of Justice in his reply, produced no information to support his claim and said that “my personal view is that abortion should be treated as a health issue and not a criminal one.”

Right to Life wrote to all government MPs on 9 August asking them what evidence did they have to support the government’s claim that abortion, the killing of the unborn child should no longer be a crime, not one MP produced any evidence.

The community should be aware that the Law Commission was precluded by the Minister of Justice from giving any consideration to the findings of the authoritative and respected report of the Royal Commission on Contraception Sterilisation and Abortion given to Parliament in 1977. This Commission recognised that human life began at conception and from implantation deserved the protection of the law for its right to life. It recognised that there was no stage in the development of the unborn child when it should not be recognised as a human being.

Right to Life earnestly requests the government to reaffirm the duty of the state to protect the lives of all from conception to natural death by retaining abortion in the Crimes Act. It should always be a crime to kill an unborn child.

Ken Orr

Spokesperson,

Right to Life

Overwhelming Majority of Submissions to Law Commission Oppose Decriminalisation of the Killing of Unborn

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Media Release 15 August 2018

The Law Commission under the Official Information Act has released to Right to Life information on the written submissions received by the Law Commission from the community on the review of the abortion laws in New Zealand.

 The President of the Law Commission, Sir Douglas White has advised Right to Life on 14 August, that a total of 3,419 submissions have been received. The issue was set out by the Minister of Justice, Andrew Little in a letter to Sir Douglas dated 27 February; The government is considering how best to ensure New Zealand’s abortion laws are consistent with treating abortion as a health issue. It was the wish of the Prime Minister that abortion be taken out of the Crimes Act and treated as “a reproductive choice for women.” The killing of the unborn child was no longer going to be treated as a crime.

 A total of 73.5 per cent of submissions which addressed the issue, opposed the decriminalisation of abortion and only 26.5 per cent of submissions which addressed the issue supported the decriminalisation of abortion.

Of the 2,278 submissions which addressed the issue, the Commission identified 603 that supported treating abortion as a health issue and/or removing abortion from the Crimes Act and 1,675 as opposing changes to the current criminal offences and/or opposing decriminalisation. The remaining 1,141 submissions did not address the issue. We are advised by the Law Commission that many of these 1,141 submissions supported protection for the unborn child and their mothers, this group will be summarised and the summary will be provided to the Minister of Justice in October. In the meantime there will be no information provided to the public on this summary until the Minister is advised.

Right to Life believes that this information provides conclusive evidence that the majority of the community are adamantly opposed to treating the killing of defenceless unborn children as a health issue and support protection for the lives of our unborn provided by the Crimes Act in sections 182, Killing of Unborn Child and 183 Procuring abortion by any means.

Right to Life earnestly requests that the government recognise and acknowledge that the government has no mandate from the people of New Zealand to remove the unborn who are classified as “unwanted “ from the protection of the Crimes Act where they have been protected since 1856, in order that it might facilitate the killing of these children as a health issue.

Right to Life also encourages the government to recognise that the first and only duty of government is to protect the lives of every member of the community from conception to natural death and not to preside over their destruction. It should recognise that the unborn child is the weakest and most defenceless member of the human family and deserves our respect and effective legal protection. Pregnancy is not a disease and abortion is not health care. It should also recognise that the sexualisation of our youth with Family Planning style comprehensive sex education programmes and the seductive “safe sex” message is promoting promiscuity, pregnancies outside of marriage and abortions.

 

Ken Orr

Spokesperson,

Right to Life

 

Ministry Of Health Submission Dehumanises Our Unborn Children

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Hon, Dr David Clark…

19 July 2018.

Dear Minister,

Ministry of Health submission on Abortion law review.

Right to Life is disappointed that the Ministry of Health in its submission to the Law Commission on its review of the abortion laws, supports the government’s proposal “that abortion be a reproductive health choice for women”. The Ministry claims; “Legal termination of pregnancy is much safer for women than giving birth.”  This is simply untrue and ignores the fact that in every abortion an innocent and defenceless unborn child is violently killed.

The submission signed by Ashley Bloomfield, CEO of the Ministry of Health, sadly supports a culture of death in place of a culture of life, which should pervade health services in New Zealand. The submission presents a sad reflection on an increasing culture of death which pervades the Ministry. Since 1977, the Ministry has classified the killing of children before birth as a core health service; it has established killing centres in 20 Public Hospitals where more than 500,000 unborn children have been violently killed since 1978.

The Ministry, in its submission, refuses to acknowledge that the unborn child is a patient who is entitled to special care and protection. The Ministry refuses to acknowledge that when they are caring for a woman with child, they have the privilege and duty to care for two patients, the mother and the child.

The Ministry  seeks to dehumanise the unborn child, it states that the child should be called a fetus and never a child and it denies that the unborn child has right to life. The Ministry insists that we do not use the term abortion and instead use the term termination of pregnancy service. The submission advises that staff at District Health Boards have been instructed to use these terms. Right to Life believes that this is to hide the reality that abortion kills an innocent human being and to attempt to remove the stigma which is associated with killing children in the womb.

The Ministry claims that complications are very rare and that there is no link between abortion and breast cancer, international research debunks these assertions. It is accepted by the medical profession that following an abortion, a woman has more cancer prone cells in her breasts than she had before her abortion.

Right to Life is very concerned that the Ministry is opposed to health professionals having a legal right to exercise their conscience in refusing to facilitate or participate in the killing of an unborn patient. The Ministry calls this exercise of conscience, “gender based discrimination.” Conscience rights are at the heart of the right to freedom of speech and the practice of ethical medicine and we remove them at our peril.

Right to Life fully supports the continued legal protection of the conscience rights of doctors and nurses, anything less means we are moving towards tyranny. Right to Life believes that the removal of conscience rights would ultimately result in doctors and nurses refusing to be involved with the killing of unborn patients being driven from their professions. We would then have a medical profession that was under the control of the state.

Right to Life asks:

  • Are the proposals made by the Ministry of Health in accordance with government policy?
  • Do you support the removal of conscience rights provided by section 46 of the Contraception Sterilisation and Abortion Act, which allow health professionals to refuse to authorise, participate in an abortion or refer the woman to another doctor who will perform the abortion ?
  • Do you support the Ministry seeking to dehumanise the unborn child by changing the language to hide the fact that the unborn child is a human being endowed with human rights, the foundation right being a right to life?
  • Do you support the Ministry’s denying that abortion entails the killing of another human being, is not a crime, should be removed from the Crimes Act and its killing made “a reproductive choice for women”?

In conclusion, Right to Life requests that you, take urgent steps to ensure that our unborn children who are the weakest and most defenceless members of the human family receive the utmost respect and protection. We seek this action to ensure that our health services have the utmost respect for our health professionals and the right to life of all patients, both born and unborn.

Yours sincerely,

Ken Orr,

Secretary.

NZ Ministry of Health Shockingly Supports the Killing of the Unborn Child to be no longer a Crime

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Image result for Ashley CEO nz mohMedia Release 14th July 2018

Right to Life is disappointed that the Ministry of Health in its submission to the Law Commission on its review of the abortion laws, supports the government’s proposal “that abortion be a reproductive health choice for women”. The Ministry claims; “Legal termination of pregnancy is much safer for women than giving birth.”  This is simply nonsense and the fact that it is coming from the Ministry is nothing less than abominable.

The submission signed by Ashley Bloomfield, CEO of the Ministry of Health [pictured here] sadly supports a culture of death in place of a culture of life which should pervade health services in New Zealand. The submission presents a sad reflection on an increasing culture of death which pervades the Ministry. Since 1977 the Ministry has classified the killing of children before birth as a core health service. It has established killing centres in 20 Public Hospitals where more than 500,000 unborn children have been violently killed. 

The unborn child is a patient who is entitled to special care and protection. The Ministry refuses to acknowledge that when they are caring for a woman with child, that they have the privilege and duty to care for two patients, the mother and the child.

The submission denies the stark reality that abortion kills an innocent and defenceless unborn child. It seeks to dehumanise the unborn child. It states that the child should be called a fetus and never a child and it denies that the unborn child has right to life. The Ministry insists that we do not use the term abortion and instead use the term termination of pregnancy service. The submission advises that staff at District Health Boards have been instructed to use these terms. Right to Life believes that this is to hide the reality that abortion kills an innocent human being and to attempt to remove the stigma that is associated with killing children in the womb.

The submission claims that abortion is safer than allowing a child to be born, ignoring the stark reality that in every abortion a child is violently killed; It claims that complications are very rare and that there is no link between abortion and breast cancer. International research debunks these assertions.

The Ministry is opposed to health professionals having a legal right to exercise their conscience in refusing to facilitate or participate in the killing of an unborn patient. The Ministry calls this exercise of conscience, “gender based discrimination.” Conscience rights are at the heart of the right to freedom of speech and the practice of ethical medicine and we remove them at our peril.

Right to Life fully supports the continued legal protection of the conscience rights of doctors and nurses, anything less means we are moving towards tyranny. Right to Life believes that the removal of conscience rights would ultimately result in doctors and nurses who refuse to be involved with the killing of unborn patients being driven from their professions.

Right to Life requests that the Minister of Health, the Hon Dr. David Clark, take urgent steps to take action against an executive that is not just anti-life but which seeks to remove our most cherished and basic freedoms. We seek this action to ensure that our health services have the utmost respect for our health professionals and the right to life of all patients, both born and unborn.

Ken Orr

Spokesperson,

Right to Life.

Family Planning’s Continuing War on Women

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The Family Planning Association [FPA] in its submission to the Law Commission support the proposal of the Prime Minister Jacinda Ardern to take abortion out of the Crimes Act and to treat abortion as a health issue that is a reproductive choice for women, rather than as a criminal issue. The unborn child has no human rights until it is born. It should no longer be a crime to kill an unborn child. 

The FPA with the requested law change intends, “to further develop abortion services to meet the needs of the community”. It would be a catastrophe for women and their defenceless unborn if the FPA developed its 29 clinics in New Zealand into killing centres. 

The FPA claim that the current abortion legislation, “is no longer fit for purpose from both a health and human rights perspective. Women’s lives and status in society have changed since the 1970s.”

Right to Life obtained their submission from the Law Commission under the Official Information Act.  The FPA submit that it is no longer necessary to have abortions authorised by two certifying consultants or for abortions to be performed in licensed hospitals or clinics. The Association believes that most surgical and medical abortions can be performed in community and primary care clinics including FPA clinics, with no specialised facilities required.

The FPA in its submission have:-

  • Rejected the duty of the State to protect the lives of the unborn, its future citizens.
  • Believes that life begins at birth and accepts the killing of the unborn up to birth for any reason including that the child was the wrong sex.
  • Accepted the killing of those those with Down syndrome, up to birth.
  • Accepted abortion up to birth for socio-economic reasons.

Right to Life asks the FPA how do you reconcile your claim to be advocates for women when you support the killing of women in the womb ? [Read more…]

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