Media Release 24 July 2021
Why is the Government of Jacinda Ardern offering Abortion up to Full Term of Pregnancy?
Right to Life asks the Minister of Health why the Abortion Legislation Act allows for the violent killing of babies up to the full term of pregnancy. The Minister, Andrew Little, when as the Minister of Justice presenting the Abortion Legislation bill at its first reading on 8th August 2019 told Parliament, that, “there was no such thing as a full term abortion”. “Stupid stuff and it would be if anybody believed there was any such thing as full term abortion-there isn’t”. The Minister’s claim is rebutted by information provided to Right to Life by the Ministry of Health accepting that abortion was legal for the full term of pregnancy. Will the Minister now acknowledge that the Abortion law permits the killing of the unborn for the full nine months of pregnancy and that he will now seek to have the abortion law changed to outlaw the killing of the unborn up to full term?
The Ministry advised Right to Life in May in response to a request under the Official Information Act of the numbers of abortions in 2020 that were 24 weeks or more gestation. The information revealed that abortions up to 39 weeks had been reported to the Ministry by abortion providers.
The Director General Of Health, Dr Ashley Bloomfield, who presides over the abortion industry in New Zealand, has directed in the interim guidelines that from 22 weeks gestation to avoid a baby being born alive, potassium chloride be injected into the heart of the child to kill the baby to ensure that it is not born alive.
The Capital & Coast DHB advised Right to Life on 16 July in response to an Official Information Act request that medical abortions are unlikely to be available from 22 weeks as feticide would not be available except for severe fetal abnormality.
The DHB revealed that the provision of post 20 week abortions is potentially limited by conscientious objection in the midwifery and nursing workforce.
Right to Life commends and supports midwives and nurses who refuse to be involved in the killing of their weakest and most defenceless unborn patients.
Right to Life also commends doctors who refuse late term abortions on conscience grounds to killing the defenceless unborn for socio-economic reasons.
Right to Life is concerned that Capital & Coast DHB is,” succession planning to include changing its model of care to a nurse /midwife led model with training for nurse/midwife in dating scanning, pre –assessment, counselling and prescribing to be explored”. Abortion will then be for a woman and a nurse or midwife to decide. Is the killing of a child before birth to be considered too trivial to require the attention of a doctor?
Right to Life is also concerned that children with disabilities including Down syndrome are being killed in late term abortions. This supports the government’s search and destroy screening mission to eliminate Down syndrome by killing babies with Down syndrome. These are our beautiful people. It is estimated that 60 % of babies who are diagnosed through screening are killed before birth. It is shameful that the Prime Minister opposed protection for babies with Down syndrome being killed after 20 weeks gestation and was responsible for the defeat of the Supplementary Order Paper 459 of National MP, Melissa Lee, that would have outlawed these killings.
Ken Orr,
Spokesperson,
Right to Life