Unlawful abortions

NZ Police.

Christchurch.

20th September 2019

Dear Sir,

ALRANZ Complaint – Promotion of Unlawful Abortions.

I am very concerned about the health and welfare of women. I therefore wish to bring to your attention information concerning the encouragement of the unlawful importation of prescription drugs.

The prescription only drugs Mifepristone and Misoprostol are used in New Zealand for chemical abortions. The Contraception Sterilisation and Abortion Act 1977 requires that these drugs be only prescribed by “operating surgeons” following the authorisation of an abortion in accordance with the Crimes Act section 187A. These drugs are required to be administered only in facilities licenced for abortions.

It us unlawful for any person to import them into New Zealand across the border without authority. It is also unlawful to use these drugs to perform an unlawful abortion.

The Abortion Law Reform Association Inc has a web site that encourages persons to visit another site for the purpose of unlawfully importing these prohibited drugs. It minimises the risk of being discovered and makes no mention of the very real threat to the health and lives of women who use these drugs in their own home without medical supervision. For your information I have included the link to the ALRANZ site. Help! I’m Pregnant

I would be grateful if you would kindly advise me what action you take in this important issue.

Kind regards,

Ken Orr

Secretary,

Secretary

Abortion Supervisory Committee,

Dear Ms Cole,

The Perinatal and Maternal Mortality Review Committee in its annual report for 2017 provided statistics on perinatal mortality resulting from abortion in 2016.

There were:- 20 – 22 weeks 87. 23 – 24 weeks 32. 25 -27 weeks 13. 28 – 31 weeks 14. 31 weeks – 2.

It is noted that your Committee’s annual report to Parliament does not provide this detailed information and only provides a total for over 20 weeks. What reason does the Committee have for withholding this important information from Parliament?

I wish to request that your committee consider including in its annual report the detailed abortion statistics provided by the Perinatal and Maternal Review Committee.

In table 4.3 of the report the reasons provided by clinicians for post 20 week abortions are listed for the 148 abortions. The major reasons were:-

Congenital abnormality 109.

Maternal conditions 32.

Antepartum haemorrhage 10.

It is noted that it is unlawful under the Crimes Act to authorise an abortion after 20 weeks gestation on the grounds of fetal abnormality. The fact that congenital abnormality is given in the case of 109 abortions suggests that these abortions were unlawful and that these unborn children were deprived of their life unlawfully.

I would be grateful if you would advise me what action your Committee will now take to investigate the lawfulness of the 148 post 20 week abortions performed in 2016 and to ensure that all future post 20 week abortions conform to the requirements of the Crimes Act.

Yours sincerely,

Ken Orr

Secretary,

Right to Life.