Kate Cormack
National President
voiceforlife.org.nz
Two years ago today, Parliament failed in its basic duty of care to the most vulnerable members of the community of Aotearoa New Zealand.
In passing Labour’s extreme Abortion Legislation Act 2020, they ushered in a new law that liberalised abortion right up to birth, allowed for sex-selective abortions, and stripped away freedom of conscience rights from Kiwi healthcare workers.
In the lead up to the final reading, Parliament had the opportunity to pass amendments that would have corrected some of the worst extremes of this Act, but instead, they chose to reject these moderate measures.
Not only was an amendment to ensure that a baby born alive after a botched abortion be given the same appropriate care as any other born child rejected, but so was an amendment to explicitly ban sex-selective abortions.
All of this was perpetrated on the back of a rushed and democratically stymied process, in which an ideologically stacked select committee refused to hear 95% of the people who wanted to make oral submissions.
Labour’s Abortion Legislation Act 2020 received over 25,000 written submissions, yet only 160 oral submissions were allowed to be heard (of which only 139 actually ended up being heard).
By way of comparison, the Climate Change Response (Zero Carbon) Amendment Bill received just 10,000 written submissions, yet the Environment Committee heard 1500 oral submissions.
Our Parliament may have forgotten the rights and wellbeing of their most vulnerable constituents two years ago, but Voice for Life has not.
We will continue the call for justice in the face of this extreme legislation. Our mahi of rebuilding the culture of life and of respect for the dignity of every human being will continue with passion and dedication.
Our voice will not fall silent until the violence of abortion is considered as unthinkable as it is necessary, and Aotearoa New Zealand becomes a place of safety and care for all New Zealand people.
He aha te mea nui o te ao? – He tangata, he tangata, he tangata!
