Media Release 17 November 2024
Right to Life believes that police may be unlawfully prohibiting peaceful citizens from praying in designated safe areas of 150 metres around abortion facilities.
Right to Life also believes that the information provided by the police indicates that women seeking an abortion at clinics and hospitals are not subject to harassment and intimidation from prolife people, nor are the staff. The Safe Area legislation is unnecessary, as existing Trespass legislation is sufficient, and Safe Area legislation is a distraction from the violence inflicted on women and their unborn in the abortion facility.
There is no provision in the legislation governing safe areas, which prohibits any person peacefully praying in the safe area. Prayer vigils are not noisy demonstrations, nor are they intimidation of clients and staff. The New Zealand Bill of Rights Act 1990 upholds our right to free speech and assembly.
In response to an Official Information Act request, Police advised Right to Life on 14 November 2024, that they had dealt with 5 complaints of alleged violations of “Safe Areas”, offence code 3574, concerning 5 abortion providers in New Zealand, and 2 incidents arising from the observation of a Police officer. Following investigation of these complaints, no charges were laid, no arrests were made, and no further action was taken.
Right to Life believes in the absence of information from the police, that all the complaints concern peaceful prayer vigils conducted within these safe areas. The participants are pro-women and pro-life and if they were asked to, would be pleased to provide help and support to the pregnant women and her baby, before and after birth.
The safe area legislation criminalises the act of offering women help and support to choose life for her child outside an abortion clinic. It also criminalises the act of demonstrating in favour of life, and against the killing of innocent unborn and inflicting violence on women outside an abortion clinic.
However, it is not a crime to demonstrate within a safe area in favour of poisoning an unborn child, scraping it out of its mother’s womb or violently dismembering the child.
Right to Life is disappointed that the police refused our request for information on the nature of the alleged offences.
“With regards to the third part of your request for the detailed nature of each of these offences, Police refuse this part of your request under section 9(2)(a) of the OIA, to protect the privacy of persons. You have instead been provided with the unique occurrence identification number, the date and city in which the incidents took place and the rationale for the decision not to arrest or change persons involved at each incident.”
“Safe Areas” are not safe for mothers, nor for their defenceless unborn children. Right to Life is committed to campaigning against the Safe Area legislation being extended to other killing centres, and being amended to prohibit prayer vigils and even praying silently within safe areas, as has now happened in the United Kingdom.
Ken Orr,
Spokesperson,
Right to Life New Zealand Inc.