Family Life International NZ on Safe Areas Bill and 40 Days for Life

February 19, 2022 by Admin Leave a Comment

We are posting the latest newsletter from Michelle Kaufman at Family Life International. This important post details the problems with The Contraception, Sterilisation, and Abortion (Safe Areas) Amendment Bill. This dangerous bill seems almost certain to pass given only 12 MP’s voted against it. This is truly shocking as the bill has huge implications for freedom in New Zealand and not just in regard to the right to protest the murder of unborn children. Michelle’s post also gives details about the coming 40 Days for Life Vigils which are going to be held in Auckland and Wellington. Unfortunately Christchurch will not be having the vigil this year but Right to Life hopes to run a shorter vigil.

The Contraception, Sterilisation, and Abortion (Safe Areas) Amendment Bill has been read for the second time in Parliament during an extended sitting.

The Bill passed 108 for and 12 against.

The following parliamentarians voted against the Bill. They should be congratulated for their stand for freedom of expression and encouraged to continue voting against the Bill for the third and final reading.

Harete Hipango
Simeon Brown
Simon O’Connor
Chris Penk
Penny Simmonds
Louise Upston
Michael Woodhouse
Melissa Lee
Maureen Pugh
Anahila Kanongata’a-Suisuiki
Jamie Strange
Neru Leavasa

The Bill is now at the Committee of the Whole House stage, allowing for further debate and for amendments to be proposed and voted on. The next sitting may be Wednesday 23 February.

Once the Bill passes through the Committee of the Whole House, it is ready for its third and final reading.

It is quite reasonable to expect that the Bill will become law within the next few weeks, prior to the upcoming 40 Days for Life vigil.

As mentioned previously, it appears that the Committee members did not intend the law to reach so far as to prohibit people praying silently within a so-called “Safe Area”. However, this point is ambiguous within the legislation and does need to be clarified.

Touted as being in the interests of women so that they can access legal “health care” without being harassed, intimidated, or abused (physically and verbally), this Bill’s actual purpose is to cover the gruesome reality of abortion, sanitising it with euphemistic language in the hope that somehow that will remove the deep sadness and shame associated with abortion.

Critically, so-called safe areas are not safe for the most vulnerable in this situation – the pre-born child who hides unseen in his or her mother’s womb.

We know that pregnant mothers who arrive at an abortion facility are facing a difficult situation. However, they often have chosen abortion because they feel they have no other choice.

We stand as a peaceful sign of hope, not judgment. We stand in love. We peacefully offer practical support to any pregnant mother in her greatest hour of need.

And we pray. In our littleness and humility, we pray in reparation for the great sin against life that takes place in these buildings. We pray because abortion grieves the heart of God who created and loves infinitely the babies, the mothers, the fathers, the workers. We pray so that no pre-born child will die without being loved here on earth.

To be frank, our opposition to the exclusion zones established through “safe area” legislation has NOTHING to do with us. It is not about our freedoms (although these are being unjustly limited). It is about shining the light on the gruesome reality of abortion, the harm inflicted on mothers, and most importantly on the right of innocent human beings to be safe from a barbaric death.

Former abortion workers in the United States have stated that up to 75% of women booked for an abortion will not show for their appointment when there is a peaceful, prayerful presence outside. Even if that number is smaller here in New Zealand, it still means that lives are saved without us even knowing (read about one such save here).

The abortion lobby is afraid of us – because we offer pregnant women real choice. And we do it in the most loving way possible.

Sacrificing your time to be present outside abortion centres is a true act of love and mercy.

Here’s what you can do:

Contact your local MP and respectfully ask that they change their vote on the Contraception, Sterilisation, and Abortion (Safe Areas) Amendment Bill in the third reading.
- It is an attack on the freedom to gather.
- It is an attack on the freedom of religion (it is a spiritual and corporal act of mercy to be present outside an abortion facility).
- It is an attack on the freedom of expression.
- This is not a situation where these freedoms can be limited in a free and democratic society, for if someone was to truly breach civilised behaviour, the law already allows for them to be dealt with by the Police.

Follow this link to Parliament for contact details.

Sign up to pray outside abortion facilities in Auckland and Wellington this Lent.
The vigils will go ahead even if the law changes. Be assured that we will not ask you to do anything unlawful. Depending on the final outcome, this may mean that the vigil site will be moved down the road from the abortion place.Please let us know when you are available to be a peaceful, prayerful presence on the street. This helps us ensure that every hour is covered and that no one is left alone.

Auckland:
Monday to Saturday 7am to 1pm with extended hours on Wednesdays 7am to 7pm
Contact: Simon Archer 021 400 729 or simon@fli.org.nz
Wellington:
Monday to Friday 7am to 1pm and Saturday 8am to 12pm
Contact: Maria Hammond 027 354 7367 or mariahammond@hotmail.com

For information specific to the New Zealand 40 Days for Life vigils, please visit fli.org.nz/40daysforlife

Join in the 40 Days for Life vigil from home.
No matter where you live you can get involved and pray for an end to abortion. If you’re in Auckland and Wellington and you’re able to get out and about we encourage you to be physically present at the vigils in Auckland and Wellington. But that may not be possible for everyone.If you’re housebound, or unable to be physically present at the vigils, or if you live outside the Auckland and Wellington areas, please fill out this form, we’d love to have you as part of the prayer team!

My dear friend in this great battle to end abortion in our nation. Prayer is our greatest weapon, for our fight is in the spiritual realm. Satan is after souls. He is attempting to destroy God by destroying His precious children, made in his image and likeness.

There is no restriction at this present time that can compare to the pain and suffering endured by the little ones who are so brutally discarded or that of mothers and fathers who carry the burden of a past abortion.

Let us do all we can in the coming week to try and change hearts and minds for the sake of the mothers and their babies.

Yours in the service of life,

Michelle Kaufman
Communications Director
Family Life International NZ

Right to Life – 40 DAYS FOR LIFE – CHRISTCHURCH

January 22, 2022 by Admin Leave a Comment

40 DAYS FOR LIFE – CHRISTCHURCH

Right to Life has the privilege of organising the prayer vigil 40 Days for Life, praying for an end to abortion and promoting love for both mother and child.

If you reside in Canterbury, would you consider joining a small group to help to organise the prayer vigil.

If you would like to help please contact me before Monday 31^st January at;- ken@righttolife.org.nz

The peaceful prayer vigil is held in Hagley Park on Riccarton Av opposite the Christchurch Public Hospital.

In 2020 there were 1,613 unborn babies killed at that Hospital.

The prayer vigil commences on Ash Wednesday, 2^nd March and concludes on Palm Sunday 10^th April.

40 Days for Life is an international movement that commenced in 2007, it has vigils in over 1,000 cities in 64 countries.

More than 20,600 lives of innocent and defenceless unborn children have been saved, through these vigils, from a violent death and their mothers from a lifetime of grief and sorrow.

Kind regards,

Ken Orr,

Secretary,

Right to Life NZ Inc.

Christchurch 40 Days for Life Prayer Vigil – Help Save Lives

February 22, 2019 by Admin Leave a Comment

The 40 Days for Life prayer vigil begins in Chistchurch on 6th March and runs through to 14th April. The vigil is involves peaceful prayer in Hagley Park opposite the Christchurch Women’s Hospital, where unborn children are losing their lives every day. Right to Life is encouaging anyone who wished to help save the lives of unborn children to get involved by signing up for vigil hours. Even taking a single one-off one hour prayer slot over the entire 40 days could help save a life.

40 Days for Life is a peaceful and powerful prayer initiative that has been running for several years in 7 countries across more than 741 cities and is known to have saved 15,256 lives saved, 186 abortion workers converted and 99 abortion centres closed over the 23 previous campaigns. Through prayer and fasting, community outreach and peaceful vigil, we might help to bring about an end to the tragedy of abortion and offer hope to the abortion vulnerable.

How can I participate?

If you are interested in being a part of 40 Days for Life, then we’d like to hear from you! Here’s how you can help:

Sign up to pray during the vigil at for the Christchurch vigil site;
Invite and encourage friends, family members, and parishioners/your church community to participate;
Distribute flyers;
Speak at your church, parish or faith-based group about 40 Days for Life and invite participation;
Encourage your church or group to adopt a day during the vigil and be responsible for filling the hours;
Learn how to talk to mothers, fathers, abortion facility staff and the public in truth and love;
Provide feedback on your past experience of 40 Days for Life.

Time spent outside the abortion facility can be for as little or as long as you are able to sacrifice. We also invite those who are house-bound or outside of Christchurch to pray in solidarity with the other faithful who are praying at the the vigil sites. 40 Days for Life is open to all people of faith. We encourage all Christian Churches, youth groups, parishes and organisations to sign up for one or two hours at a time, or commit to filling the hours for a half a day or even a full day! Through God all things are possible!Please consider participating in the upcoming Christchurch 40 Days for Life vigil.
Together, let us rise up in prayer and fasting and pray for an end to abortion in New Zealand!

You may prefer to sign up using the official 40 Days for Life Android App which can be installed on your phone or computer by clicking on the above link which opens in Google Playstore.

For more information contact
Maria Schmetzer
director@jp2.org.nz

40 Days for Life Powerful Pro-Life Witness

December 9, 2013 by Admin Leave a Comment

40 Days for Life is a very effective prayerful pro-life witness that began in 2004 in Texas. By 2012, 306 locations in ten different countries participated in the Fall campaign, saving 476 babies, and their mothers, from abortion. Australian cities are now taking part, there has been a“40 Days of Prayer and Fasting” campaign run out of Waikato, and many NZ Christians have provided prayer support during the overseas campaigns. In 2014, a 40 Days for Life campaign will take place in Auckland, Wellington and Dunedin. The event is of course still many months away but a lot of work will need to be done. The Catholic pro-life group, Family Life International, has already benefitted from a week of training on how to organise and run these events, taught by Australian pro-life worker Paul Hanrahan. Ideally, the witness should be 24-7, with the opportunity for different church communities to "sign up" for one hour time slots. To maintain a continual witness over the 40 day period will require the commitment of a large number of people and the participation of as many of the Christian Churches in these cities as possible. It is also important to have prayer back-up for those involved in witnessing near abortion places and to have trained counsellors and support available for those women who choose life for their babies. There will be specific roles for everyone who desires to stand up against abortion and advance the culture of life. Church communities are invited to prayerfully consider taking part in the next year’s 40 Days for Life in New Zealand. For more info or to register your interest, visit fli.org.nz or ph.09 629 4361.