Te Awa Tupua (Whanganui River Claims Settlement) Bill, which passed its third reading in Parliament last week, establishes a new legal framework for the river. Family First has taken the occasion as an opportunity to highlight the fact that the unborn child has no legal rights. They say the new law gives the Whanganui river Read more
The head of A US lobby group on abortion, Catholics for Choice, is scheduled to speak at a conference in New Zealand in November. A spokesperson for the New Zealand’s Catholic Bishops Conference, Simone Olsen, said of Catholics for Choice: “Clearly this group’s message is inconsistent with the Church’s teaching on family which seeks to protect the vulnerable and the voiceless including the unborn Read more
Sir Geoffrey, a former prime minister and well respected lawyer has suggested family court judges rather than doctors should make any final decision when it come to ending a person’s life. However, ACT Party leader David Seymour said there was no need for its inclusion in his bill to legalise assisted suicide. The bill is Read more
Green MP Jan Logie says it is worth debating whether New Zealand should ban protests around abortion clinics, similar to those enforced in some Australian states. In the Australian states of Tasmania and Victoria, filming, intimidation and protests are banned within 150m of abortion centres. In New South Wales, a bill to provide a 150m Read more
The abortion debate is heating up in Thames with a pro-choice group vowing to demonstrate each week alongside pro-life protesters. The demonstration is in response to a regular demonstration by pro life group Voice for Life demonstrators. Abortion Law Reform Association (ALRANZ) member Scott Summerfield said the aim of the demonstration was to support women Read more
The Family Planning Association (FPA) is not representing the interests of women by once more calling upon the government to decriminalise abortion say Ken Orr, spokesman for Right to life. Jackie Edmond, CEO of the Family Planning Association thinks abortion should be considered as a health issue. She is calling on the government remove the Read more
It is important pregnant mothers who feel they have no other option than to have an abortion know there are people who are ready to listen, to be a friend, and to work through their situation in a caring, confidential manner says Michelle Kaufman. Kaufman is the Communications Director of Family Life International NZ. “Abortion Read more
Family Planning chief executive Jackie Edmond said the abortion law as it stands is outdated and needs fixing. She said abortions were part of a broken system as they currently fell under justice rather than the Ministry of Health. Edmonds said this when making a submission last Thursday to the Justice and Electoral select committee’s Read more
Women seeking an abortion are being offered easier access to the procedure with a free, national telephone consultation service that started this week. Using the freephone number the service has been set up by Wairarapa abortion doctor Simon Snook because of the delays, said to be potentially harmful, faced by many New Zealand women seeking Read more
National MP Chester Borrows has presented a petition to Parliament, which will now go through select committee, asking for an amendment to the Care of Children Act. The Labour Party and Family Planning say they will fight the proposed amendment. The petition was prompted by the experience of the Kieft family in Stratford in 2009. Read more