Born Alive and Left To Die

Ala Pomelile
Family First

Across the Tasman, a quiet crisis unfolds in Australian hospital rooms. While debates about making abortion even more accessible dominate headlines, a reality that rarely makes mainstream media is that some babies who survive abortion procedures are left to die without medical care or comfort. These are not hypothetical cases. These are real stories, real lives, and they demand our attention and action.

The most recent story out of Queensland, Australia, concerns Baby Samuel, a 16-week-old whose image (shared by Dr Joanne Howe, a passionate advocate for the lives of the unborn in Queensland, Australia) is being widely shared by pro-life advocates and, not surprisingly, is already being censored by pro-abortion activists. The image shows Baby Samuel, born alive and healthy at 16 weeks via an induced abortion, sucking his thumb as he lay on a table for 30 minutes and was left to die without medical treatment or care. He was induced via a pill called misoprostol, which helps to induce labour in women, to aid the birth process, not used as a tool to kill innocent babies.

In Queensland, the Termination of Pregnancy Guidelines explicitly state that there is to be no provision of medical care – neither palliative care nor life-saving treatment – to a baby who survives an abortion. The guidelines recommend that healthcare providers offer opportunities to engage in care provision (e.g., cuddling/holding) as ‘desired’ but underscore: ‘Do not provide life-sustaining treatment (e.g., gastric tubes, IV lines, oxygen therapy).’

This creates a reprehensible double standard. A preterm baby born at 22 or 23 weeks who is wanted will receive immediate, intensive medical care, with neonatologists and nurses fighting for their life. But a baby of the same gestational age or younger, like Baby Samuel, born alive after an abortion is left to die. The only difference is whether they were wanted or the circumstances of their birth.

As a mum of two boys, images like that of Baby Samuel are heartbreaking and shattering. A child – breathing, moving – left to face such helplessness – who entered this world only to be abandoned by the very medical system that is supposed to care for every patient.

This is not healthcare. This is not compassion. This is abandonment – morally reprehensible and utterly indefensible.

Now, New Zealand is not exempt from facing similar challenges. From the official government data we obtained in 2025, on average, an unborn child that survives an attempted abortion is not given life-sustaining treatment.

These alarming figures may be significantly underestimated because some districts were unable or unwilling to provide the data:

According to Official Information Act requests to Health New Zealand, it reveals that since the beginning of 2020, approximately 80 attempted abortions have resulted in a child being born alive but not given life-sustaining care. Gestation periods range from 20 to 30 weeks. In simple terms, these are babies in the second trimester.

In 2020, only 37 MPs supported an amendment to the Abortion Legislation Bill, which required the care of a child born after an attempted abortion. This amendment made it clear that a qualified health practitioner who performs such an abortion has a duty to provide the child with proper medical care and treatment, just like they would for any other child.

The Australian experience should serve as a warning. Without clear legal protections and transparent reporting, vulnerable babies born alive after abortion may be overlooked, placed on metal dishes, left in empty or Rainbow rooms, and denied basic human care. Strengthening laws and accountability is essential to prevent neglect and ensure dignified care and proper neonatal treatment. And Family First continues to call on the government to immediately introduce and pass legislation which requires life-sustaining care of any child born alive after an attempted abortion.

Baby Samuel’s story serves as a reminder that the fight for the unborn, for vulnerable babies and for life is much more than an abstract political debate. We are talking about one of society’s most vulnerable, helpless, defenseless human beings.

Whilst we may have some of the most liberal abortion laws, the battle for the unborn is anything but over. It continues in hospital rooms with brave individuals risking their jobs to speak out against abortion, in legislative and policy discussions, and in our persistent advocacy for the most vulnerable.

William Wilberforce once said: “You may choose to look the other way, but you can never again say that you did not know.” We must continue to speak up for our babies. We must continue to speak up for the unborn child. Let’s continue to be the voice of the voiceless, to fight for the unborn and make abortion unthinkable in New Zealand.

Join us plus and many others marching in support of the unborn and the voiceless at the March for Life 2026. It is happening on March 7th in Auckland. Check out the MFL website for more details.

Also, check out our resources on the issue of born-alive after attempted abortion babies.