Abortion Supervisory Committee Upholds Right of Conscience

Right to Life commends the Abortion Supervisory Committee for promoting protection for clinicians who refuse to perform or assist in abortions on the grounds of conscience. The Committee has recently written to all of the district health boards in New Zealand reminding them of their duty to allow doctors, nurses and others to refuse to perform abortions or assist in them when it is contrary to their conscience. Right to Life believes that there may be many nurses working in Public Hospitals that provide abortions who are assisting in abortions against their conscience who are unaware of the legal protection provided for them.

Parliament provided protection for the conscience of clinicians when passing the Contraception, Sterilisation and Abortion Act in 1977. Section 46 reads, Conscientious Objection- [1] Notwithstanding anything in any other enactment, or any rule of law, or the terms of an oath or of any contract [whether of employment or otherwise], no registered medical practitioner, registered nurse, or other person shall be under any obligation-[a] To perform or assist in the performance of an abortion or any operation undertaken or to be undertaken for the purpose of rendering the patient sterile:

[b] To fit or assist in the fitting, or supply or administer or assist in the supply or administering, of any contraceptive, or to offer or give any advice relating to contraception,- The section goes on to state that no person shall be denied employment, accommodation, goods or any other privilege or benefit merely because the employee refuses on conscience to perform any act referred to in this section.

Recently a technician employed by the Canterbury District Health Board approached Right to Life seeking help. She had been summoned by her employer to a disciplinary meeting and threatened with dismissal if she did not perform the duty of assisting in preparing instruments to be used for abortions. The technician refused to perform the duty as she was totally opposed to the killing of unborn children. Right to Life advised the complainant that she had protection under section 46 of the Act. Her employer subsequently withdrew the threat of dismissal and respected her right to refuse the duty on conscience grounds. Right to Life brought this distressing incident to the attention of the Committee requesting that the Committee take action by writing to all District Health Boards, which they subsequently did.

Right to Life contends that all District Health Boards have a duty to inform all employees in writing at the commencement of their service of their rights provided by section 46.

Legal protection for our right not to be involved in the killing of unborn children must be valued and protected. In the United States, Europe and at the United Nations there is a concerted attack on the right of clinicians to refuse on conscience grounds to perform or assist in abortions. Our conscience is the voice of God, we have a duty to avoid evil and to do good. It is always wrong to kill the innocent. If all Doctors acted on an informed conscience there would be no abortions in New Zealand.

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