"Blaming the "pill scare" for the all time high abortion figures in New Zealand is blatant 'buck passing' on the part of the Abortion Supervisory Committee." Madeleine Flannagan, National President of Students Organised to Uphold Life (SOUL) said today.

According to the latest report of the Abortion Supervisory Committee (ASC), there were 15,501 abortions in New Zealand in 1999. This means that for every 3.7 children born, one was aborted. It is the highest abortion rate in this country’s history, and the ASC predicts that the number may be as high as 16,500 for the year 2000.

Glenn Peoples, president of the West Auckland branch of SOUL added, “The ASC is just passing the buck. You don’t have to be the world’s greatest statistician to see that this increase has been in motion since the current abortion laws came into effect in 1977. Since then the ASC has repeatedly lobbied Parliament to liberalise the law, making access to abortion more readily available for women who want it."

"Everytime a slight decrease occurs in the figures sex education is working, then there is an increase and it’s a pill scare. I am confused; is sex education working or not? Is it ever anyone's fault that the rate increases? Is anyone responsible for anything?” Madeleine Flannagan queried.

Glenn Peoples explains; “The fact that the ASC appeals to women going off the pill as a reason for an increased abortion rate is telling. It is not legal to authorise an abortion on the grounds of contraception misuse or unplanned pregnancy. Yet the ASC, a group set up to ensure that the Abortion law is kept and properly applied in this country, apparently sees no problem here. They are quite content with the fact that women are seeking abortion for reasons that are not legal ones and that health practitioners are blatantly breaking the law. They simply push for a more liberal law, so that women can obtain abortions, it would seem, for whatever reason they see fit. They don’t appear to have any intention to do their job and see the law upheld. They have quite publicly disowned this role, and instead tried to have the intent of the law drastically changed.”

Madeleine Flannagan agreed; “If the ASC were a private organisation, it could pursue whatever viewpoint it liked. The fact is that they are appointed by Parliament to do a job: to uphold the law. This is a task they have never managed to get around to doing, they seem more interested in being a pro-abortion lobby group than a 'Government watchdog'."

"They seem to think it is their mission to pursue legislation that suits their agenda. Their rationale is almost unbelievable. They say that ‘the law should reflect the current practice.’ When people break the law, say the ASC, don’t correct the people – correct the law! On no other issue could we imagine such a ludicrous principle being adhered to. Theft happens, so lets make it legal. Rape happens, so let make it legal. Their flawed reasoning simply demonstrates that the ASC are clearly not trained in policy analysis, ethics and logic and wouldn't know a rational argument if they fell over it."

"What the ASC needs to ask is, why was abortion treated under the Crimes Act to begin with? Why was the New Zealand law intentionally written to restrict abortion practices? Surely this was not done only to thwart the desires of women with unwanted pregnancies? Perhaps the lawmakers were taking something into account that the ASC is not; that every abortion takes a human life so abortion should be restricted - afterall, if no-one dies during an abortion procedure, what is the problem with the high rate? Why are the ASC concerned at all? And do they really believe that making abortion more available will reduce the rate? - Please, New Zealanders are not that gullible.”

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Contact National Office of SOUL (Students Organised to Uphold Life) New Zealand for more information: 09 836 7884, nz@soul.org.nz

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