Right to Life New Zealand

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

Why is NZ First Betraying its Supporters?

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Media Release Wednesday 15th May 2019

Right to Life is appalled that NZ First is deserting its support base by giving critical support to the ant-life and anti- feminist agenda of the Prime Minister, Jacinda Ardern and the Minister of Justice, Andrew Little.

Andrew Little has been directed by the Prime Minister to present a government bill to take the killing of the unborn out of the Crimes Act and to make the killing health care and “a reproductive choice for women”. The support of Winston Peters and his caucus for this proposed bill is absolutely critical for without this support the Labour Party would not be able to proceed with the proposed anti -feminist and anti-life bill, it would have the ignominious fate that this bill deserves.

The stunning betrayal by NZ First of the women of New Zealand and our precious unborn is unparalleled in the history of New Zealand. It is a declaration:

  • That the State has no duty to protect the lives of New Zealanders in their first nine months of life 
  • That the killing of an unborn child is not a crime 
  •  that it is a woman’s right to choose to terminate the life of her child for any reason up to 22 weeks, effectively up to birth if a doctor thinks that it is appropriate
  • That sex selection abortions should be legal.

At the 2017 general election NZ First received 186,706 party votes which was 7.2 % of the total party votes. In a Reid Research poll conducted in February 2019, NZ First received 2.9 % support from those polled. On current polling NZ First would be expected to have NO Members of Parliament elected at the 2020 general election.

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.

Right to Life now asks, how is Winston Peters going to convince the electorate that the killing of the unborn child is no longer a crime and is to be “a reproductive choice for women”? Why should the electorate trust Winston Peters to protect women and the unborn when he had stated publicly in 2014 that he was opposed to the decriminalisation of abortion and now in 2019 that he supports the decriminalisation of abortion?

It is still not too late. Right to Life earnestly requests that Winston Peters take the mantle of statesman and stand on the high moral ground by courageously reaffirming his opposition to the decriminalisation of abortion and withdrawing his support for the anti-life agenda of the Labour Party and the proposed evil bill to decriminalise abortion. This could be his finest hour when he becomes the defender of women and our precious unborn.

Ken Orr
Spokesperson,
Right to Life

Newshub’s Jessie Mulligan “Surely not all those who (oppose oppose abortion decriminalisation) are “hard core religious types and weirdos”

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Jessie Mulligan

The Manager Media Works,

Dear Sir

Formal complaint.

I wish to lodge a formal complaint on behalf of Right to Life against an item on the decriminalisation of abortion that featured on the Project at 7 PM on 13 March, 2019. Note: Facebook link

My complaint is that the item breached the Broadcasting Standards Authority’s standards Standard 6 Discrimination and Denigration, Standard 8 Balance and Standard 9 Accuracy.

Standard 6 Discrimination. The presenter, Jessie Mulligan, made a statement and asked “surely not all those ‘who were opposed to the decriminalisation of abortion’ were “hard core religious types and weirdos.”

This statement denigrates those who are opposed to the killing of the unborn who are the weakest and most defenceless members of the human family. Why is it weird to defend the right to life of the voiceless? Why is it weird to recognise abortion as violence against women? There are many women who have had an abortion and who are now living a life of grief, sorrow and regret and who now seek to protect other women from the violence of abortion. The statement was discriminatory as it seeks to silence and deny the right of those who are opposed to abortion to be heard. Opposition to the violence of abortion is not a religious issue, one does not have to be religious to be opposed to violence against women and their unborn.

I believe that justice demands that Mr Mulligan now makes a public apology on the Project programme to the thousands of viewers who he has offended and insulted.

The most dangerous place for a New Zealander today is in the mother’s womb.The item confirms and perpetuates the ultimate discrimination against the unborn that only those who are wanted have a right to life and those who are classified as “unwanted”, may be killed.  

Standard 8 Balance. The item lacked balance as it was evident that the proposal to decriminalise abortion had the open support of all the presenters. It is contended that the ethics of the journalism profession requires that journalists adopt a neutral stance on contentious social issues.

A female presenter stated that she had terminated the life of her second child because it was unwanted and supported the decriminalisation of abortion. There are many women in our community who have had an abortion who regret it and are opposed to the decriminalisation of abortion. To achieve balance why was such a woman not interviewed?

The Minister of Justice, Andrew Little, was interviewed on his plans to present a bill to decriminalise abortion. To achieve balance, why was there no interview of an opposition MP to present a case to oppose decriminalisation?

The CEO of Family Planning, Jacki Edmund, was interviewed for 2 minutes and 14 seconds making claims that the current legislation violated human rights and should be taken out of the Crimes Act. Abortion is in the Crimes Act, Crimes against the person Part VIII. Section 182 Killing unborn child and is a crime to kill an unborn child. To achieve balance, why was there no person from the pro-life movement  interviewed to challenge the false statements made by Edmund? Why too did the presenters fail to ask Edmund to justify her contention that abortion should be taken out of the Crimes Act and for the killing of an unborn child to no longer be a crime? There is no United Nations convention or law in New Zealand that supports abortion as a human right. Why did the presenter fail to challenge Edmund on the accuracy of her statements?

The item lacked balance as the introduction to the item showed a small number of abortion supporters holding placards in support of abortion. To show balance why were there no shots showing the more that 1,200 people, young and old, who joyfully and peacefully marched on Parliament on Saturday 8th December 2018, defending life, supporting women and opposing the decriminalisation of abortion?

Standard 9 Accuracy. The item was misleading in that it promoted the proposition that abortion should not be in the Crimes Act without addressing why abortion is in the Crimes Act. The law recognises that the state has an interest and a duty to protect the lives of its future citizens. It also recognises in sections 182 and 183 that the unborn child has a right to be born. This protection has been there since 1856. The Crimes Act declares that it is a serious crime to kill an unborn child. There was no attempt in this programme to produce evidence to support the claim made by the Prime Minister and the Minister of Justice that abortion should not be a crime ie that it is no longer a crime to kill an unborn child. It should be known that the Prime Minister and the Minister of Justice when asked recently by Right to Life under the Official Information Act what evidence they had to support their claim that it was not a crime to kill an unborn child replied that they had no evidence and that it was just their opinion. 

The Project team are commended  for producing a quality current affairs programme, it is disappointing that this item did not reach their normal high standard.

Yours sincerely

Ken Orr

Secretary

ken @righttolife.org.nz    

This is the website of Right to Life NZ Inc.
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