Right to Life New Zealand

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

Dr Duncan Webb MP, “Abortion does not constitute the violent killing of a defenceless child 

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 Image result for duncan webb mpMedia Release 1 September 2018          Image result for violent abortion

Right to Life is disappointed that Dr Duncan Webb MP, Labour, in response to our Society’s letter of 9 August 2018, stated, “abortion does not constitute the violent killing of a defenceless child.” Dr Webb is a Professor of Law and it is with respect that we challenge this statement which raises many important questions.

The Crimes Act, section 182 Killing an unborn child, is emphatic in declaring that it is an unborn child that is killed and that it is a serious crime to kill an unborn child. 

The killing is indeed violent, a suction curettage abortion entails the dismemberment of the child by tearing the legs, arms and head off the child. It is the responsibility of the assisting nurse to reassemble the body parts to ensure that all limbs are recovered. 

It is indisputable that the child is defenceless it is unquestionably the weakest and most defenceless member of the human family. Why is Dr Webb in denial that abortion violently kills a defenceless unborn child?  [Read more…]

Law Commission Should be guided by conclusions of Royal Commission.

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Media Release 25 August 2018

 Right to Life believes that the Law Commission should be guided by the wise conclusions made by the Royal Commission on Contraception Sterilisation and Abortion in its report to Parliament in 1977.

 The Law Commission advised Right to Life in April in response to an Official Information Act request, that the Commission had a copy of the report. The Commission advised that it “is aware that there were a range of views about the extent to which the interest of the fetus should be taken into account. Some of the alternatives the Committee presents in its advice may take the status of the fetus into account to varying extents.”

Right to Life is extremely disappointed and concerned at the response of the Commission. Why, is the Commission dehumanising the unborn child by insisting on calling the child a fetus. The Commission is aware that if it wishes to deny the human rights of the child it is first necessary to deny the child’s humanity. The Commission appears to support the dangerous and false notion that the status of the child is a matter for public opinion. This proposal is an attack on the human rights of every member of our community and violates the United Nations Universal Declaration of Human Rights.

Right to Life earnestly entreats the Commission to place the status of the unborn child and its right to life at the forefront of its review of the abortion laws in New Zealand.

The Commission appears to be influenced by the Minister of Justice, Andrew Little, who believes that the Commission’s report is no longer relevant, he advised our Society in March, “in regards to your fourth request, I would expect the Law Commission to take into account any documents or reviews that are of contemporary relevance . I would take note that the report of the Royal Commission that you reference was undertaken in the 1970s.”

The Commission in its report to Parliament said, 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”

They went on to say, “From implantation to birth, changes which take place in the unborn child are of a developmental nature only. There are no changes of a qualitative nature. The three events suggested as being of significance, namely quickening, viability and brain development are no more than stages in that development and are not indicative of any qualitative changes in the developing fetus which would make it non-human at one point of time and human at another.”

In rejecting the argument that some degree of development should be reached before the unborn child be accorded legal 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.” Does the Law Commission have any evidence that these conclusions are now no longer relevant and should be disregarded?

Right to Life asks the Hon. Andrew Little and the Law Commission why these important and fundamental conclusions about the status of our precious unborn children are not to be at the forefront of the law review by the Commission.

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

 

Is Jacinda Ardern’s government in breach of the Treaty of Waitangi?

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Media Release 30 July 2018

 

 Right to Life believes that Jacinda Ardern is in 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 children before birth should not be a crime, this includes Maori children.

When the Treaty was signed in 1840, the Crown gave an assurance that Maori would have the Queen’s protection. It is believed that that protection was to include protection for the right to life of Maori from implantation to natural death, which was provided by the common law of England and carried on in the New Zealand Crimes Act since 1856.

The Crimes Act section 182. “Killing Unborn Child” 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.” This legal protection for the lives of unborn children has been in the Crimes Act since 1856.It would be a great injustice for the government to remove this protection.

Why does Jacinda Ardern believe that it should not be a crime to kill an innocent and defenceless Maori unborn child?

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 and  as a “reproductive choice for women” These children will effectively lose the protection of the Crown. The children who are wanted will retain the protection of the Crimes Act and the protection of the Crown.

The decriminalisation of abortion would be a violation of the human rights of all unborn children including Maori and an attack on the dignity of Maori mothers, it would be a statement from the state that we have no interest in protecting the life of your child or protecting you from the violence of abortion, the child is your property and it is your choice whether the child lives or is killed. If we followed the Victorian model, abortion for any reason, is available up to 24 weeks if a doctor agrees. Abortion from 25 weeks to birth is available for any reason if two doctors believe that an abortion is desirable. Victoria effectively has abortion on demand up to birth.

The abortion rate for Maori is disturbing. In 2017 there were 13,285 abortions reported in New Zealand, 3,111 of these abortions were on Maori women. I believe that if abortion is decriminalised it will result in more pressure and coercion imposed on Maori women to terminate the life of their child by the fathers of the child who threaten to abandon the mother if she does not have an abortion.

Ken Orr

Spokesperson,

Right to Life

NZ Government pressured unlawfully by UN CEDAW committee to decriminalise abortion.

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Media Release 27 July 2018

Right to life is concerned that this UN Committee continues to unlawfully pressurise the New Zealand government and other governments to decriminalise abortion. It is abhorrent that the CEDAW Committee has hijacked the Convention for the Elimination of Discrimination Against Women. The ultimate discrimination of women is to be violently killed before birth in their mother’s womb.

Jan Logie, the Under Secretary for Justice led the government delegation at the 8th Periodic Review by the CEDAW Committee at Geneva on 12 July 2018. Members representing NGOs, the New Zealand Family Planning Association and the Abortion Law Reform Association NZ also attended the Review and made a joint submission supporting the decriminalisation of abortion.

It is disappointing that the government colludes with the UN Committees in hijacking the Convention in support of the government’s determination to decriminalise abortion in New Zealand. Right to Life fully supports the Convention as originally drafted  and signed by the New Zealand government in 1980.The UN Committee unlawfully continues to interpret Article 12 of the Convention to include abortion as part of family planning services, contrary to the intentions of the General Assembly that has repeatedly rejected abortion as part of family planning services.

Clearly, the intent of Article 12 was to protect women, especially during or after pregnancy or lactation, by ensuring adequate health care to protect mother and child. Nowhere in Article 12 or in any other provision of CEDAW is there a so called “right” to abortion or abortifacients. “Family planning” and “health care services” are mentioned, but not abortion. Right to Life requests that the government cease using the unlawful interpretation of the CEDAW Convention to promote discrimination against women through its proposal to decriminalise the killing of the unborn and to make abortion a health issue of choice for women. The government should uphold the Convention by opposing the ultimate discrimination of women, the killing of women before birth.

Ken Orr

Spokesperson,

Right to Life

Why Does the Prime Minister Support Violence Against Women?

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Media Release  11 June 2014

Abortion is now a significant election issue.

Right to Life is disappointed that The Prime Minister, the Right Hon John Key, in response to the Green Party’s proposal to decriminalise the killing of children in the womb stated, “I personally support the status quo. I have been in favour of the right for women to choose, but there is a formal medical process around that. I think the balance is about right and I think we should just leave it where it is.”

Right to Life makes no apology for once again speaking up in defence of women and the unborn child. A National government under John Key, took office in November 2009. It is estimated that in the five years that the National government has been in office, that 75,000 children in their first nine months of life, were taken with the approval of the government, to a place designated by the government, to be killed in their mother’s womb. Their murder is an unspeakable crime against humanity and a preventable tragedy. It is tragic when our Prime Minister thinks that this is acceptable. Does he also accept the damage done to women’s health with a potential lifetime of grief, regret and sorrow?  Does he also accept that having an abortion is associated with significant increase in risk of depression, a 155 per cent increased risk in attempted attempted suicide,  a 110 per cent increased risk of alcohol abuse and an increased risk of drug abuse.

The Prime Minister claims to support the “right of women to choose” to kill their unborn.

[Read more…]

Does Labour really care about Children?

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Media Release   27 January 2014

David Cunliffe, leader of the Labour Party has announced that should Labour be elected at the next general election, families receiving an income of less than $150, 000 a year will receive on the birth of a child, $60 per week for the first year. The Labour Party is to be congratulated for offering needed assistance to families. David Cunliffe in announcing this new election policy said that Labour wants to give children the best start and that Labour is putting giving children the best start in life at the heart of our social policy

This statement is challenged, it simply is not true. He is referring solely to children who have been born. The best start a child can have is to be allowed to be born. What then is David Cunliffe’s and the Labour Party’s policy on the right to life of our most vulnerable children, our unborn. Does he not understand that these are the weakest and most defenceless members of our human family?

David Cunliffe stated at a meeting last year to select a leader for the Labour Party that;

“I want to see a woman’s right to choose protected. The current law hasn’t been reviewed for many years and I think that it is now urgent. The Law Commission would be best placed to undertake this review as it is a conscience issue which splits across parties.” So he believes that women have a right to choose to kill their child before birth. However there is no such right?

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ALRANZ Push for Decriminalisation of Abortion Seeks Abortion on Demand for Any Reason Up to Birth

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Editor,

Sunday Star Times.

Dear Sir

Re 12 January. Firstly Dr Healey is not a medical practitioner. Dr Morgan Healey claims that abortions are safe, why does she ignore the real grief and suffering inflicted on women by the loss of their child? She infers that the Abortion Law Reform Association represents the women of New Zealand, it does not.  ALRANZ has a national membership of less than 100 members indicating minimal support. ALRANZ  seeks the decriminalisation of abortion. This would entail the  removal of legal protection for the human rights of unborn children, the weakest and most defenceless members of the human family. The public should be warned that ALRANZ wants to remove abortion from the Crimes Act with the killing of the unborn child no longer being a crime. Abortion would be available on demand for the whole nine months of pregnancy for any reason or no reason. There are 200 million women missing in the world, the result of sex selection abortions. This is the ultimate discrimination against women for it victimises two women, the mother and her daughter in the womb. The discrimination is compounded for many of these abortions are  forced on  women who want to protect their daughter. Why does ALRANZ support sex selection abortions?

[Read more…]

ALRANZ Abuses US House of Horror Abortion Story to Promote Decriminalisation of Abortion in New Zealand

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Gosnell Case Reminds Us that All Abortions are Violence Against Women

It is disappointing that ALRANZ is using this tragic Gosnell case to promote the decriminalisation of abortion in New Zealand on the grounds that our abortion laws are restrictive. This is absurd as ninety-nine per cent of women who request an abortion in New Zealand obtain one.

Kermit Gosnell was a sadistic monster who performed 40,000 abortions at his filthy unsanitary house of horrors in Philadelphia in Pennsylvania, USA. He specialised in late term abortions with hundreds being born alive. He then killed them by snipping their necks. He was recently found guilty on three charges of murdering infants after birth. He ran a criminal enterprise motivated by greed. He is awaiting sentence.

The following are the restrictions associated with having an abortion in Pennsylvania that are apparently opposed by ALRANZ and which were also opposed by Planned Parenthood as being an infringement on a “woman’s right to Choose.” Abortions may not be performed after 24 weeks gestation. A girl under the age of 16 must have parental consent for an abortion. A woman may not obtain an abortion until at least 24 hours after the attending or referring physician orally informs her of: (1) the probable gestational age of the fetus; (2) the nature of the proposed procedure, including risks and alternatives; and (3) the medical risks of carrying the pregnancy to term.

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Young Labour Declares War On Women

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Right to Life Media Release: 12th May 2013

It is disappointing that Young Labour, the youth wing of the Labour Party has declared at its 2013 annual conference that they would make it a priority to decriminalise the killing of unborn children.

 

Right to Life is opposed to this violent assault on vulnerable women and their defenceless unborn. Should the decriminalisation of abortion be adopted by the Labour Party as policy for the 2014 general election, it will be vigorously opposed by the pro-life movement in New Zealand. It should result in a resounding electoral defeat of the Labour  Party.

 

The determination of Young Labour to seek the support of the Parliamentary Labour caucus is a threat to the human rights of all. If today they attack the unborn, tomorrow they may well deny the human rights of other vulnerable people in society, the aged the invalided and the elderly.

If Young Labour is really concerned about the welfare of women they would be seeking to have the current legislation upheld. Instead of promoting a culture of death, why does Young Labour not make it a priority to promote a culture of life by promoting adoption as an alternative to abortion and promoting practical help and assistance to women who are being coerced into abortion?

[Read more…]

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