Pregnancy Counselling Service

Media Release 26 May 2022

Right to Life believes that the government should conduct an urgent enquiry into why an assumed overwhelming number of women are not being counselled before an abortion, the effect that this is having on informed consent, the destruction of innocent unborn life and the implications for the future physical and psychological health of women.

Right to Life is concerned that the overwhelming number of women who are coerced into accepting the killing of their unborn child presumably do not seek pre-abortion counselling. A study conducted in 2019 by the Elliot Institute in the United States found that 64% of women seeking an abortion had been coerced to have an abortion against their will by others.

It should be of great concern to the community that the Auckland District Health Board revealed in a recent response to an Official Information Act request from Right to Life that there were 4,027 women who had an abortion at their facilities in 2021 and that there were only 174 women who received pre-abortion counselling. Right to Life believes that these disturbing statistics are reflective of the abortion industry in New Zealand.

Right to Life asks the government how can it be confident that women enduring the killing of their unborn child have given an informed consent, when nearly 96%, of women seeking an abortion have not been counselled?

Right to Life believes that women are not being encouraged to seek counselling as it can require a consultation with a social worker at the hospital and require a second visit on another day for a surgical abortion. The introduction of medical abortions by telehealth with the abortion pills sent to the women’s home is a further disincentive for a woman to seek counselling at a hospital.

Right to Life is concerned that the Ministry of Health has no interest in collecting information on the abortion report form on whether women are being counselled. If the Ministry of Health is really concerned about women’s health, why are they not concerned that the overwhelming number of women undergoing abortion are not been counselled?

Pre-abortion counselling is in the interest of women and their precious unborn children. It provides an opportunity for the woman to explore life affirming alternatives to the killing of the child, such as adoption, guardianship and parenting and information about services that would support a woman to choose life for her child. Counselling provides information concerning the development and humanity of the unborn child and the potential complications, sterility, future miscarriages, premature births and long term psychological grief and sorrow.

Ken Orr,

Spokesperson,

Right to Life New Zealand Inc.

It is with great sorrow that the executive of Right to Life joins with the pro-life movement in New Zealand to mourn the passing of Nina Barry- Martin.

Nina was one of the founders of Pregnancy Counselling Services in New Zealand. Nina founded Pregnancy Counselling Services after becoming disillusioned with Youth Lines nondirective counselling and Pregnancy Help, which focused on helping women facing an unplanned pregnancy by supporting women in the decision that they made, which included abortion. Nina commendably was dedicated to saving babies and women from the violence of abortion. Nina said, “because we save two people with every pregnancy: mother and baby.”

Nina launched her new service by placing one advertisement in a newspaper, which was all she could afford. This advert was instrumental in saving the life of a baby and a mother from a lifetime of grief and sorrow. The child saved went on to become a PCS counsellor, to become a lawyer and to marry and have five children. There will be many other people who are alive today because of the loving support and counselling provided by Nina and her colleagues.

Nina, with her friends and supporters, expanded the counselling service to cover 24 hours a day, for seven days a week, with a trained counsellor always available to offer compassionate help to distressed pregnant women . PCS at its peak had 23 branches.

Nina’s love for women and their precious unborn was not confined to New Zealand. Nina was invited to present an address to a pro-life conference at the Vatican. Nina also went to Hong Kong, India and the Philippines to help establish a pregnancy and post abortion service.

Nina was born in Palmerston North in 1926, the only child of Lebanese parents Marie and Basil Coury. Nina had a beautiful voice and after winning a singing competition on the Manawatu radio at the age of 12 went on to sing on national radio to present a programme about her favourite composer, Johann Strauss.

Nina served on the board of PCS for 40 years and retired in 2011. Nina enjoyed the loving lifelong support of her husband Peter who shared her passionate love for mothers distressed with their pregnancy and for their precious unborn. Peter was a distinguished past national President of the National Society for the Protection of the Unborn Child.

Right to Life was privileged to have Nina as a patron. Those of us who were privileged to know Nina were greatly encouraged by her love, dedication, passion and commitment to the wellbeing of mothers and the unborn.

We can contemplate with awe the grand reception from choirs of aborted unborn children that awaited Nina after a lifetime of service to women and the unborn as she commenced her eternal life.

Ken Orr

On behald of Right to Life Executive