Media Release 5 August 2009

Judgement on Abortion Case a Victory for Pro-Life Movement

Prolife NZ is today welcoming the 3 August decision by Justice Miller to decline from issuing declaratory orders on the case, Right to Life vs. The Abortion Supervisory Committee (ASC). In his most recent judgement, Justice Miller further reinforces the shameful fact that he outlined in his July 2008 judgement; that the ASC has been permitting a large number of unlawful abortions to be committed over a period of 'many years'.

“Justice Miller states that since the ASC is supervised by Parliament, declaratory orders are unnecessary as he expects the ASC to now comply with the judgements he has made with Parliamentary oversight”, said Prolife NZ National Director Andy Moore. “This is great news for both unborn children and women throughout New Zealand as it means that the abortion law is set to be applied more closely to the original intent when it was passed.”

“Not only does abortion take away the future of an unborn child, but it is also proven to be harmful to women, both psychologically and physically. Any move to address New Zealand's unacceptably high abortion rate is a positive step forward,” said Mr. Moore.

In his judgement, Justice Miller states that 'the Committee can be expected to administer the law as Parliament intended, without need of formal orders.' Prolife NZ trusts that the Committee will seek to address their previous record of non-compliance with the law due to a misunderstanding of their function outlined in the law.

Prolife NZ calls on Parliament to ensure that the ASC is applying New Zealand's abortion law correctly as the Contraception, Sterilisation and Abortion Act, 1977 asserts that full regard must be given to the rights of the unborn child.

ENDS

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