The choice of the Labour-led government to trample on the human rights of our precious unborn and the right of women to be protected from the violence of abortion, in my opinion, means it forfeits its right to govern.

The report of the Law Commission on recommendations for taking abortion law out of the Crimes Act and treating it as a health issue, was presented on Friday to the Minister of Justice.

The review had been requested by the Prime Minister, Jacinda Ardern.

Ms Adern claims to be a strong advocate for women and children but with this move has abandoned protecting both.

The government has no mandate from the people of New Zealand to remove women and their unborn from the protection of the Crimes Act.

There is to be no public consultation or debate about the contents of the review prior to the government presenting a bill to Parliament.

The Law Commission advised Right to Life under the Official Information Act that

• 3,419 submissions were received on the review of the abortion laws in New Zealand.
• 1,677 submissions opposed to removing women and their unborn children from the protection of the Crimes Act.
• Only 603 submissions that supported making the killing of an unborn child in abortions a health issue and a choice for women.
• 69%, were opposed to the decriminalisation of abortion.
• 49% specifically supporting retaining abortion in the Crimes Act.
• An additional 20% supporting legal protection for the child in the womb.
• The remaining 13% did not address the issue of decriminalisation.

It is worth noting, that since 1856 the Crime's Act has recognised the killing of an unborn child in an abortion as a serious crime and violence against women.

The authentic feminist position is to oppose the decriminalisation of abortion.

The three legal models presented by the Commission represent an unprecedented attack on the weakest and most defenceless members of our human family.

These proposals constitute an unprincipled denial of the humanity of the child in the womb.

The Law Commission's proposed models provide for the unborn, deemed by the mother as unwanted, to be removed from the protection of Part VIII of the Crimes Act.

Currently, the Crimes Act states that abortion is a serious crime that on conviction the accused may be imprisoned for up to 14 years.

The Law Commission's three models provide for the killing of the unborn, effectively up to birth, and for this to be considered a health issue on part of the woman.

The Law Commission's three models means it no longer be a crime to kill an unborn child, but a health service.

However, it is the duty of the state to protect the lives of every member of our community from conception to natural death and not to preside over their destruction.

The decriminalisation of abortion will allow the government to declare that they have no interest in protecting the lives of New Zealanders in the first nine months of their lives.

The Labour-led government admits that it has no evidence to substantiate the claim that in a modern society it should not be a crime to kill an unborn child; it intends to replace truth and justice with personal opinion.

It is time for the Labour Party return to the high social principles of its founders to uphold the sanctity of life ethic and to protect, rather than destroy, the lives of the most vulnerable members of our community.

• Ken Orr is a spokesperson for Right to Life.

Fr Fenton died on July 26 at the Little Sisters of the Poor Sacred Heart Home in Dunedin, aged 86.

After a requiem Mass at Holy Family Church in Wanaka on August 1, Fr Fenton was laid to rest at "Aorangi", his property on Aubrey Road.

His niece, Mary-Jane Fenton of Invercargill told the Otago Daily Times that correspondence dating back to 1985 related to her uncle seeking approval to be buried on his own land.

The places people can be buried in New Zealand are almost always limited by law to official cemeteries or traditional burial grounds.

The Burial and Cremation Act, 1964, provides criteria for applications to be buried in a special place, including evidence of exceptional circumstances, supporting referees, iwi consultation and site assessments.

With a Queen Elizabeth II open space covenant protecting a tree arboretum at Fr Fenton's Wanaka home, permission was finally granted by the Associate Minister of Health in 1999 for his burial there.

Fr Fenton gave detailed instructions for his funeral, including the number of shovels provided to fill in his grave.

He arranged for his coffin to be made out of a tree on his property.

He also requested "sufficient whisky (single malt) to be provided to those at the graveside, to drink a prayerful toast to my journey into eternal life".

New Zealand's Law Commission has proposed changes to liberalise the country's burial law and submitters been largely supportive.

A report by Bell Gully lawyers stated legislative change seems inevitable.

"If passed, the new Act will have wide-ranging implications for all. Individuals and families will undoubtedly benefit from greater consumer protection laws and wider choice," the report concluded.

Sources

• Otago Daily Times
• Lexology.com
• Image: Travel Guide Mag