Right to Life asks that if the images exposing the bodies of the brutally murdered victims of abortion are so horrible that they cannot stand to look at them, why do they tolerate and facilitate their murder?

Prime Minister, the only voice aborted babies have is their broken and bloodied bodies.

Their broken and bloodied bodies is the only way they can speak to you.

Adern does not listen

On the day of the second reading of the anti-women and anti-life Abortion Legislation Bill, members of the pro-life movement gathered peacefully outside Parliament.

Several members held heart-rendering graphic pictures of aborted babies.

The Prime Minister, who has enthusiastically sponsored her Labour-led government bill, said she was personally against the use of such images.

"I just think that's not a way to share the legitimate views that other people will have."

"People will have their own views and they should be able to freely express them.

"But people should also be mindful that those who have gone through some of these experiences, that will weigh heavy for many."

Right to Life sympathises with the Prime Minister, it is very disturbing to see pictures of the dismembered and bloodied bodies of children who have been violently killed.

Right to Life believes that if we are going to engage in a respectful and informed debate about abortion it is important to consider the objective of abortion.

Every abortion results in a violently killed child.

How can we debate your Bill when you refuse to acknowledge that abortion kills an innocent human being?

Little objection

Justice Minister Andrew Little also objected to the use of such images.

"New Zealanders on average have a low level of tolerance for that sort of extremism. If these people want to go around upsetting the rest of New Zealand, that's their call."

Minister, why is it extreme to graphically depict the results of your ill-conceived abortion Bill?

Is it your Bill that is extreme?

Is it not you and your extreme abortion Bill that is upsetting the rest of New Zealand?

Vulnerable not protected

Prime Minister and Minister of Justice, why do you want to kill unborn children?

Why are you not protecting society's most vulnerable?

From the moment of conception we are human beings endowed with an inalienable right to life.

Children come to bless our nation, all they ask is to love and be loved

Prime Minister, Minister of Justice you choose not to hear the silent scream of the unborn child as the abortionist forces their way into their home, intent on violently killing a living child.

You might not like to listen, but the graphic pictures of the bloodied and dismembered bodies speak to you.

• Ken Orr is a spokesperson for Right to Life.

The Government's bill to take abortion out of the Crimes Act passed its second reading in parliament. Read more

Right to life organised the petition.

Representatives of the Society's executive presented it to an assembly of invited MP's on the steps of Parliament on Wednesday.

The petition opposes abortion being taken out of the Crimes Act and made "a reproductive choice for women."

"The proposal of the Prime Minister to decriminalise abortion is an unprecedented attack on the sanctity of life of the unborn child," said spokesman for Right to Life Ken Orr.

He said the government has no mandate to declare that the unborn are not human beings and that they have no right to have their lives protected by the State.

The petition has been referred to the Abortion Legislation Select Committee.

This specially appointed Committee was established to consider the Abortion Legislation Bill. There are eight members on this Committee, six of them voted to support the Abortion Bill at its first reading.

In September Right to life employed Curia Marketing Services to conduct a survey.

One question asked when the unborn child became a human being

• 65% said before birth.
• 25 % said at conception,
• 14 % said at implantation
• 26 % said between implantation and birth.

A second question asked when should the human rights of the unborn child be protected by New Zealand law

• 17 % believed at conception,
• 10 % at implantation
• 28 % between implantation and birth.

This shows 55% of New Zealanders believe that the unborn child's right to life should be protected at some stage before birth.

Read the full media release

Sources

• Supplied Ken Orr, Spokesperson, Right to Life
• Photo supplied

They have written Jacinda Ardern an open letter, published on Sunday as a full-page advertisement in the Sunday Star-Times, the Herald on Sunday and in the Dominion Post on Monday.

Spokesperson Barbara Hill said that it was time for an honest conversation about the impact abortions have.

"We began to feel that the law was changing too fast without any investigation of the fallout and consequences of abortion."

The open letter includes the names of the eight women and the number of children they have, including those they have aborted.

"We did what we thought was best at the time, encouraged - or in some cases pressured, by those around us. But we have suffered," they say in the letter.

"It was expedient at the time - it solved the initial problem I had, but I didn't realise until years later that I'd actually been grieving," Hill said.

Motivated by her own experience, she's calling for greater support and information to be given to women who are considering abortion.

"Once I stepped on the medical conveyor belt, there was no counselling or any information around potential fallout," Hill said.

"All the other women I've spoken to, not one of them has had really in-depth counselling about the possible outcome of this."

Hill said the advertisements were funded by the eight women and a number of organisations including Family First.

The prime minister hadn't yet read the letter when Newshub spoke to her but said all views would be considered.

She agrees with the letter writers that support for women who are considering abortion should be paramount.

Source

• newshub.co.nz
• radionz.co.nz
• Image msn.com

Bishop Patrick Dunn, President of the New Zealand Catholic Bishops Conference, noted "the paper is substantial and so we need time to read it and give it careful consideration."

The briefing paper outlines three alternative options that could be taken if Parliament were of a mind to propose a policy shift to treat abortion as a health issue.

• Model A leaves the decision entirely up to the woman and her doctor
• Model B includes an eligibility test
• Model C combines the two depending on how far along the pregnancy is

In an initial response, Dunn reiterated that we must not lose sight of two key facts in this discussion.

"As we argued in our recent submission to the Law Commission, abortion is both a health and justice issue and our laws should continue to treat abortion as such.

"There are always at least two human lives involved - the unborn human person and the mother. The current abortion regime recognises this," he said.

"When you look closely at the current law, we do not believe that it criminalises women as some say - indeed in the section describing unlawful abortions, the law explicitly states that "a woman shall not be charged as a party to an offence against this section.

"Taking abortion out of the crimes act will, however, effectively remove all legal protections for the unborn child.

"In taking the stance we do, we also acknowledge that the law must adequately protect the well-being of women and their families."

Dunn said the experience of Catholic agencies with a long history of working with women who have had abortions is that many women experience negative consequences following the event, often because they made the decision under duress.

He also welcomed the discussion in the document about the need for better-informed consent by way of the provision of effective and independent counselling for all those contemplating an abortion.

"The changes in legislation we would advocate for are those which would further recognise and protect the rights of the unborn child while promoting the well-being of women."

The Law Commission received just under 3,500 submissions from the public, 18% of which supported removing abortion from the Crimes Act.

Little says it's too soon to say whether MPs will vote to change abortion laws.

He will now consult with his government partners and take a paper to Cabinet.

Any changes to abortion laws would be a conscience matter for MPs.

Little told Newshub Nation he could not yet say whether there would be enough support to change the law.

Source

• Supplied: Ko te Huinga Pihopa o te Hahi Katorika o Aotearoa/The New Zealand Catholic Bishops Conference
• radionz.co.nz
• Image: newsie.co.nz

In Argentina, abortion is allowed only in cases of rape and in risks to a woman's health.

Thousands of women, most of them poor, are hospitalised each year for complications linked to unsafe abortions.

Support for decriminalising abortion drew stronger support in Buenos Aires, the capital, than in the more conservative provinces. Observers attribute that difference to the bill being voted down in the Senate, as it includes more representation from outlying areas.

At the same time as the vote was being held, Catholics celebrated the Eucharist in a "Mass for Life", while women and supporters of decriminalisation filled the streets outside the Congress.

Backers of the measure said legalising abortion would save the lives of many women.

The Health Ministry estimated in 2016 that the country sees as many as half a million clandestine abortions each year, with dozens of women dying as a result.

Opposing the bill, the Catholic Church and other groups said it violated Argentinian law, which guarantees life from the moment of conception.

"Everyone had time to express their viewpoints and be heard by legislators in a healthy democratic exercise. But the only ones that didn't have an opportunity to make themselves heard are the human beings that struggled to be born," Cardinal Mario Poli said in his homily at the mass for Life.

"We have done little to accompany the women when they find themselves in tough situations, particularly when (the pregnancy is) the result of rape or situations of extreme poverty," he said.

In a statement after the vote, the Argentinian bishops' conference said the Senate debate opened an opportunity for dialogue and a chance to focus more on social ministry, and that it was time to address the "new divisions developing between us ... through a renewed exercise of dialogue."

"We are facing great pastoral challenges to speak more clearly on the value of life," they said.

Source

• The Tablet
• Religion News Service
• Image: The Week UK