14 November 2011

General Election 2011- The Right to Life the Paramount Issue

Right to Life requests that voters vote only for candidates who are committed to upholding the sanctity of life ethic. This is the most important issue facing the nation at this year's General Election. This ethic is the foundation stone of a civil society. It is a continuing tragedy that this fundamental issue which should be at the forefront of our nation's concern and consideration has been generally ignored by the electorate and by many of those seeking election to Parliament.

During the next term of office of our Parliament nearly 50,000 innocent and defenceless children in violation of their right to life will be killed in their mother's womb, sanctioned and funded by the government. A legal system that violates the most basic right to life on the grounds of choice is fundamentally flawed. New Zealand is increasingly being enveloped by a culture of death with the threat of euthanasia looming ever closer. This will be a threat to the elderly the infirm and sick and ultimately for any person who is deemed to be unproductive. Are we aware of this and why is this not an issue?

It is the privilege and first duty of the State to protect the right to life of every person from conception to natural death. Justice is the only solid foundation of any State. The right to life, to inviolability, to freedom, is an indispensable part of any moral order.

Those who seek election to Parliament have a duty to promote the common good and to uphold the sanctity of life of every person from conception to natural death. Any candidate who fails to uphold these basic precepts forfeits his right to be elected to Parliament.

Those who have the privilege to elect those who will govern our nation for the next three years have a duty to elect only those who have a commitment to upholding the sanctity of life of every person from conception to natural death.

The Catholic Church upholds the natural law and the dignity of each person. It teaches that abortion, the killing of an unborn child; embryonic stem cell research - which entails the destruction of a human being and euthanasia, the killing of the terminally ill and assisted suicide are intrinsically evil. The Church in defence of the dignity of the human person teaches that Catholic voters should not vote for a candidate who takes a position in favour of an intrinsic evil such as abortion, embryonic stem cell research or euthanasia.

The right to life, the most basic and fundamental right that is the foundation of all our other human rights should be at the forefront of the manifestoes of all political parties. It is disappointing that the Labour, National and Greens Parties do not have policies that uphold the right to life of unborn children. The Greens Party has a number of commendable environmental and social policies that promote the common good. It is the view of Right to Life that the Greens Party in Parliament presents a growing threat to the right to life of our unborn children and to the upholding of marriage as being exclusively for one man and one woman.

Ken Orr
Spokesperson, Right to Life New Zealand Inc.

ENDS

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