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Footprints MagazineDecember 2004PARLIAMENT DENIES
PARENTS’ RIGHTS
Parliament has rejected the right of parents to be notified if
their daughter under the age of 16 seeks to have an abortion.
The Care of Children Bill Section 37 provides that a girl under
the age of 16 may have an abortion without the knowledge or consent of
the parents or guardians.
This Government Bill in the name of the Associate Minister of
Justice, the Honourable David Benson-Pope, was debated on in its
committee stage on 7 November. Amendments to Section 37 were sponsored
by Judith Collins MP, National health spokesperson, and Murray Smith MP,
United Future. Both MPs consulted with Right to Life on the preparation
of their amendments. Dale Jones of NZ First had an amendment seeking
parental consent.
Right to Life has been lobbying Parliament since the introduction
of the bill last year. A submission had been made to a select committee.
A letter had been sent in May this year to all MPs requesting that they
support parental consent. A further letter was sent on 3 November to all
MPs requesting that they support, in the absence of an amendment seeking
parental consent, an amendment seeking parental notification.
The amendments were similar and required that an abortion could
not be performed on a girl under the age of 16 until the parent had been
notified. Both amendments offered a judicial by-pass. The amendment of
Judith Collins was defeated 75-45. The amendment of Murray Smith was
defeated 94-26. The amendment of Dale Jones lost 97-22.
The community had expressed support in surveys of more than 70%
for parental notification. The Parliamentary vote was claimed to be a
conscience vote. Parliament and the Government should remember that
those who govern do so only with the consent of the governed. The
conscience vote was against the conscience and the will of the people, a
sad day for democracy.
The Hon David Benson-Pope stated publicly before the debate,
“It was always a conscience vote for Labour MPs.” Right to Life has
been advised by a reliable Parliamentary source that considerable
pressure was exerted on Labour MPs to oppose the amendment. Only two MPs
were able to withstand the pressure. Failure to comply with the demands
of those pursuing an anti-family and anti-life agenda could mean the
political wilderness or at worst oblivion.
There are very important issues here. The free exercise of an
informed conscience vote by MPs is a hallowed tradition in a
Parliamentary democracy. When pressure is exerted on MPs to ignore their
conscience and vote as dictated it violates democracy and imposes a
dictatorship.
The shameful defeat of these amendments reinforces the
politically correct myth that doctors, school counsellors and Family
Planning staff know what’s best for our children. This allows them to
arrange for an abortion on a girl under the age of 16 without the
knowledge or consent of parents.
The pro-life amendments were strongly opposed by the Family
Planning Association, the New Zealand Medical Association, the Royal
College of General Practitioners and UNICEF. The two medical
associations wrote a joint letter to all MPs requesting that they vote
against the amendments. The United Nations agency UNICEF in New Zealand
also sent a hard-hitting letter to all MPs asking them to oppose
parental notification. The letter stated, “The primary right when a
girl became pregnant was not the right of a parent to know but the
rights of the young woman to safety and support.” The inference being
that the young girl needed support to ensure she had a “safe”
abortion. This is not safe, either for the young mother or for the life
of her child.
Laws requiring parental consent or notification before an
abortion may be performed on a young woman generally under the age of 18
have been passed by forty four states in the United States. Two states
have an age requirement of 17 while one has 16. A total of 24 states
have consent laws.
This battle was lost but the will of the majority of New
Zealanders will ultimately prevail. Citizens should remember at the
general election next year who voted to deny parents the right to raise
and protect their children.
Right to Life has written to all the MPs who voted for the
amendments to provide for parental notification. They have been
congratulated for supporting a culture of life and encouraged to
continue their efforts.
Action
Members and supporters are encouraged to contact their local MPs to
commend them if they supported the amendments. In the event that they
opposed the amendments respectfully ask them why.
Please
pray for the triumph of a culture of life and the defeat of a culture of
death.
Voted
for one/all
amendments LABOUR Harry
Dynhoven1,2,3 Phillip
Field1,2,3 NATIONAL Shane
Arden1,3
Don Brash1 Gerry
Brownlee1,3 David
Carter1 John
Carter1,2 Judith
Collins1,2 Brian
Connell1,2,3 Bill
English2 Sandra
Goudie1 Phil Heatley1,2,3 Paul
Hutchinson1
John Key1 Wayne
Mapp1 Murray
McCully1 Simon
Power1 Katherine Rich1 Tony
Ryall1
Lynda Scott1 Lockwood
Smith1 Nick Smith1,2 Lindsay
Tisch1
Richard Worth1 Maurice
Williamson1 Pansy Wong1
NZ
FIRST Peter
Brown1,2,3 Brent
Catchpole1,2,3 Bill
Gudgeon1,2,3 Dale Jones1,2,3 Ron
Mark1,2,3 Craig
McNair1,2,3 Peter
Paraore1,2,3 Edwin
Perry1,2,3 Winston
Peters1,2,3 Jim Peters1,2,3 ACT Stephen
Franks1 UNITED
FUTURE Paul
Adams1,2,3 Marc
Alexander1 Larry
Baldock1,2,3
Gordon
Copeland1,2,3 Peter
Dunne1 Bernie
Ogilvy1,2,3 Murray
Smith1,2,3 Judy
Turner1,2,3 MAORI
PARTY Tariana
Turia2 INDEPENDENT Donna
Awatere Huata1,2 PROGRESSIVE
COALTION, GREENS Nil 1
voted for J Collins’ amendment 2
voted for M Smith’s amendment 3
voted for D Jones’ amendment VOTING
ANALYSIS PARTY
No. of MPs
Voted for one/all amendments Labour
51
2 National
27
24 ACT
9
1 NZ
First
12
10 Greens
9
0 United
Future
8
8 Progressive
Coalition
2
0 Maori
Party
1
1
Independent
1
1
Total
120
47 Message
from the President Dear
Members,
A significant news event recently has been the US presidential
elections. Whatever you may think about President George Bush’s other
policies, his re-election could offer the best hope for increased
protection for the unborn child in that country since the passing of Roe
vs Wade in 1973. Importantly, Bush also stands firmly against human
embryonic stem cell research, human cloning and euthanasia. Whatever
happens in the world’s largest democracy may well ultimately have an
impact on smaller countries like our own.
The reason Bush’s second term could see significant change is
that he now has the opportunity to influence Supreme Court judge
nominations, as several older judges are due to retire over the next
four years. This is important because Supreme Court judges are
instrumental in interpreting and formulating US law. Appointments to
this court are often for life, or at least until the sitting judge can
no longer physically continue. It was in fact the above Supreme Court
decision in 1973 that enshrined the evil institution of abortion, the
right to kill the unborn child, as a constitutional right. Since that
time over 40 million of America’s unborn children have been killed in
their mother’s wombs.
It would not be too far off the mark to state that part of the
anger that has ‘greeted’ Bush’s re-election, from much of the
world, stems from the knowledge that the right to kill the unborn child
may now soon be under attack. This prospect has prompted a strong
backlash of media angst and hand-wringing, even in New Zealand. It seems
that the victimisation of a specific class of human being (the unborn
child), by being separated form the protection of the law, is regarded
by many, as an ‘enshrined’ right here too.
It would now seem that there is a growing divide between the
European Union and countries like New Zealand, which are actively
dumping their Christian roots and value systems, and the United States,
where at least recently, a majority of people seemingly wish to return
to theirs. Many here have ridiculed the groundswell of American voters
whose primary concerns focused on such issues as morality and abortion.
Should we not in this country be asking ourselves why these important
issues have, over the last decades, become almost politically irrelevant
here, especially amongst many of our Christian people?
With every wish for a Happy and Holy Christmas.
Chris
O’Brien ABORTION SUPERVISORY COMMITTEE REPORT
The Committee’s report to Parliament for 2004 has been tabled
in Parliament. The Committee reports that there were a total of 440
abortions performed with the French abortion pill RU486 Mifegyne. Many
of these women after taking the lethal drug at the hospital would abort
at home.
The Committee states that it is “impressed with the quality and
professionalism of the counsellors and social workers.”
The Committee is concerned that women in some areas have unequal
access to abortion services. ILLEGAL
ABORTIONS
The Committee reports that they were recently advised of four
alleged illegal abortions. One type involved the involved the illegal
importation of drugs (prostaglandins) for the procurement of abortion by
non-medical personnel. The second type involved
medical practitioners illegally facilitating abortion either by the
administration of drugs or by accidental or inadvertent failure to
comply with the provisions of CS&A Act.
Right to Life has written to the Committee requesting under the
Official Information Act copies of all correspondence relating to these
alleged abortions. The Committee states in the report that they have now
set up protocols for dealing with similar events. CHRISTCHURCH
ABORTIONS
The Committee reports that the number of abortions performed at
Lyndhurst in 2003 was 2210. This is an increase of 107 over 2002.
Christchurch Women’s Hospital had 365 abortions, an increase of 33
over 2002. These figures represent a massive violation of human rights
and a denial of the child’s inalienable right to life.
The Committee released to this society under the Official
Information Act the total number of authorisations and refusals of
abortions made by certifying consultants in the Christchurch region for
2003:
Authorisations 5125
Not authorised 24
These statistics confirm the conclusion that the rights of unborn
children are given no regard and that we have abortion on demand.
Other important statistics requested under the Official
Information Act are expected to be released in the near future. CERTIFYING
CONSULTANTS FEES
Certifying consultants receive a fee of $87.50 for each woman
they interview who is seeking an abortion.
The Abortion Supervisory Committee has advised this society under
the Official Information Act of the fees paid to the 20 highest paid
certifying consultants for the year ending 30 June 2003:
1.
134 367.24
6.
95 267.86
2.
132 280.33
7.
94 500.00
3.
127 870.33
8.
90 168.77
4.
107 493.76
9.
89 479.18
5.
102 552.24
10.
84 459.40 THE MIRACLE OF LIFE
Look in the mirror,
are you proud of your life?
Do you have children?
A husband or wife? Are
you young? Are you old? Has
your story been told?
Where will you be
in five or ten years? Will
you achieve something great? Will
you conquer your fears?
Are you a child?
Do you love to play? Do
you run, do you jump?
Do you cherish each day?
Think of your life,
take a good look.
What if it was taken
like words from a book? All
that you are, all you’ll become, Taken
away before you were one.
Your body and mind
sucked through a tube,
Happy or sad
you won’t have a mood. No
laughter, no tears, No
loves and no fears.
You’re an innocent child,
You’ve done nothing wrong, Yet
your life has been taken, It’s
a voice with no song.
We all have the gift,
It’s God’s gift to give, So
why abort children, And
not let them live?
Would you want an abortion
To happen to you? Your
own life cut short. What’s
the right thing to do?
When you look in the mirror,
Take a better look. Does
your song have a voice? Are
there words in your book?
To take life away?
When it’s not yours to take, When
this baby could live, Please
don’t make this mistake. By
Henrietta Farrow Aged
14 years SOCIETY’S REPORT Parliamentary
Lobbying Thirteen
MPs were lobbied at meetings at Parliament during the week of 23-26
August. The MPs were Gordon Copeland, Nandor Tanczos, Judy Turner, Shane
Arden, Brian Connell, Judith Collins, Moana Mackay, Ross Robertson,
Barbara Stewart, Craig McNair, Steve Chadwick, Bill English and Stephen
Franks. The
meetings were very positive in raising awareness and gaining support for
our society’s concern on important life issues. The issues discussed
were the need for a Parliamentary enquiry into the lawfulness of
abortions in New Zealand, the need for the reprinting of the abortion
information booklet, and our society’s concerns about the Human
Assisted Reproductive Technology (HART) Bill. We also sought support for
an amendment to the Care of Children Bill to make it mandatory that
doctors notify parents if a girl under the age of 16 sought to terminate
the life of her unborn child. Meetings
were also held in Christchurch with Tim Barnett MP and Ron Mark MP.
Lobbying at Parliament will continue with ten meetings scheduled for
November. Civil
Union Bill Right
to Life made a substantial written submission to the Justice and
Electoral Select Committee on this Bill. An oral submission was also
made to the Committee. District
Health Board (DHB) Elections
Right
to Life prior to the local body elections sent a questionnaire to all of
the 186 candidates standing for the Auckland, Hutt, Waikato, Capital
Coast Canterbury and Otago DHBs. Candidates were asked: 1. Would
you, if elected to the DHB, uphold the Judao/Christian Sanctity of life
ethic which recognises the inalienable right to life of every human
being from conception to natural death? YES/NO 2. Do
you support increased legal protection for the unborn child? YES/NO 3. To
promote protection for unborn children and their mothers, would you
support operating surgeons employed by the DHB being made accountable to
the DHB for their pattern of authorisation for abortions to ensure: · That
the rights of the unborn child are given full consideration. · That
a regime of unlawful abortions with abortion on demand does not operate
in the Board’s Facilities. · That
all abortions are authorised in accordance with the Crimes Act Section
187A and that the certifying consultants authorising abortions have
“honest belief” in the grounds. · That
abortions comply with the declaration of Oslo as stated in the ethics of
the New Zealand Medical Association.
YES/NO 4. Would
you support a decision of whether or not to apply to the Abortion
Supervisory Committee for the renewal of the annual license to perform
abortions should be resolved by resolution at a public meeting of the
Board? YES/NO Candidates
were invited to make further explanatory comments. A different
questionnaire was sent to the 41 candidates standing for the
Christchurch City Council and to the 66 candidates standing for the
Local Community Boards. The results of the questionnaires were placed on
our society’s web site. The replies of the candidates for the
Canterbury DHB, the Christchurch City Council and Community Boards were
sent to 80 local churches. Media Right
to Life made three media releases recently to newspapers, radio and TV.
Two of these releases were on the subject of parental notification in
respect to Section 37 of the Care of Children Bill. The third release
was on the subject of the pro-abortion film “My Foetus” which was
shown on TV1. Comments are known to have been carried by the Dominion
Post, the Press and NZ
Catholic.
Radio Rhema broadcast the complete media release. The society’s
spokesperson was interviewed along with former abortionist Dr Margaret
Sparrow by Paul Holmes on his radio programme. Newspapers The
Dominion Post published a letter from the society on parental consent.
The Press published letters from Right to Life on the cost to hospitals
for abortions, and on zoning for brothels. The NZ Catholic carried
letters on IVF, hate speech, and unlawful abortions. The Challenge
Weekly and NZ Catholic both carried articles on information supplied by
this society on the subject of the abortion information booklet. Subscriptions The
Executive is grateful to those members who have paid their subscriptions
and to those who have made generous donations to support the work of
this society in defending our God-given right to life from conception to
natural death. Unpaid
If you have overlooked payment of your subscription it would be
appreciated if you would forward it to our Treasurer P.O. Box 668
Christchurch, together with your printed name and address. NEWS IN BRIEF Parental
Notification Records There
is currently no information available to the public on the number of
girls under the age of 16 who have an abortion without the knowledge or
consent of parents. Every patient on admission to a hospital or clinic
is required to provide the name of a person who may be contacted should
the need arise. It is assumed that where parents are aware that an
abortion is to be performed on their daughter that the name of a parent
will be shown on the admission form. Right to Life wrote to five major
Hospital Boards seeking this information for 2003. We are advised that
this information is not available. Pre-Implantation
Genetic Diagnosis
(PGD) The
National Ethics Committee on Assisted Human Reproduction (NECAHR) has
invited Right to Life to make a submission on the Committee’s proposed
guidelines. In
June 2003 the Minister of Health gave approval in principle to the use
of PGD in New Zealand. In
2002 NECHAR received an application to establish a clinical service to
transport embryonic cells to the Monash IVF clinic in Australia for PGD
to test for single-gene disorders (eg Cystic Fibrosis, Muscular
Dystrophy, Huntington’s disease) and aneuploidy screening (testing for
chromosomal abnormalities) in IVF embryos prior to implantation. Human
embryos found with these conditions would be destroyed or used for
experimentation. Right
to Life is steadfastly opposed to this search and destroy mission. It is
a further extension of the slippery slope. It is in conflict with the
sanctity of life ethic which recognises that human life begins at
conception and that every human embryo has a God-given, inalienable
right to life which should be respected and protected. PGD represents a
humanistic quality of life ethic that hold that only the health have a
right to life. Medical science should be directed to curing the
condition not destroying the patient. Abortion
Costs The Minister of Health has
advised this society under the Official Information Act of the monetary
cost of an abortion in New Zealand. The average estimated cost of
a first trimester surgical abortion or a medical abortion using RU486
Mifegyne is $850. The
average estimated cost of a second trimester surgical abortion or a
medical abortion using RU486 Mifegyne is $1400. Abortion
is a core or essential health service and there is unlimited funding. IVF
Funding The Minister of Health under
the Official Information Act has advised Right to Life of the funding
for IVF provided by Government. We
asked, is Government funding available to lesbian couples for IVF
treatment? The Minister advised that “funding is available for couples
who have biological infertility regardless of gender as per the Human
Rights Act 1993, preventing discrimination on gender grounds.” We
asked, is Government funding available to homosexual couples for IVF
treatment with a surrogate mother? The Minister replied, “Surrogacy is
only funded if the situation as set out in question 1 is met and
eligibility criteria access threshold are met and ethical approval is
given.” The average cost for surrogacy is $12 000. Editor’s
note It
is disappointing that the Human Rights Act is being used to promote
activities for which God has not established a human right, and this at
a time when the Human Rights Act provides no recognition or protection
for the basic human right, the right to life of our unborn children. Right
to Life extends its congratulations to our patron Councillor
Carol Evans JP in
her success on
being re-elected to the Christchurch City Council and
elected as the Deputy Mayor. Carol
is very supportive of the work of this society. A
letter has been sent by our Executive to Carol conveying
our congratulations and appreciation for her support.
ISSUES UPDATE
INFORMATION
BOOKLET:
CONSIDERING AN ABORTION? WHAT
ARE YOUR OPTIONS Right to Life has been
lobbying the Minister of Health since 1999 to have this important
information booklet reprinted and distributed to all GPs. In August the
Minister wrote stating, “I do not consider it to be the role of the
Ministry of Health to publish information about abortion.” It is
interesting to note that the Minister publishes and distributes many
pamphlets on health issues. In
August our society wrote and asked, “Then who is responsible for
publishing information on abortion?” The Minister replied on 11
October 2004 and stated, “The functions of the Abortion Supervisory
committee include a responsibility to “obtain, monitor, analyse,
collate and disseminate information relating to the performance of
abortion in New Zealand.” [CS&A Act, 1977]” It is noted that the Contraception, Sterilisation and Abortion Act 1977 Section 14(g) imposes a statutory duty to provide this information booklet or similar material to women consider |