Media Release 6 April 2015
Right to Life Challenges Abortion Supervisory Committee in High Court
Right to Life is seeking a Declaratory Judgement on the lawfulness of an abortion licence, first issued in 2013, by the
Abortion Supervisory Committee to the New Zealand Family Planning Association [FPA]. The licence was issued for its
Tauranga clinic. The Registrar of the High Court in Wellington has advised that the hearing will take place in
Wellington on 2 June 2015.
The Crown Law Office will represent the respondent in the High Court and the FPA will be represented by its solicitor.
The Contraception Sterilisation and Abortion Act was enacted in 1977 and provided only for surgical abortions. At that
time there were no medical abortions. The Act specifies that a licence may be issued for surgical abortions if, “there
are in the institution, adequate surgical and other facilities and adequate and competent staff for the performance of
safe abortions.”
Right to Life is totally committed to helping to keep our communities safe by vigorously opposing the plans of Family
Planning to convert its 30 clinics nationwide into killing centres for innocent and defenceless unborn children.
Abortion is violence against women and their precious unborn, it is part of the war against women.
The FPA performs only medical abortions at its Tauranga clinic. The Act does not provide for the issuing of licences for
institutions where only medical abortions are performed. Right to Life contends that Family Planning’s Tauranga clinic
licence is unlawful. The FPA provides for the killing of unborn children in the first nine weeks of life by medical
abortions using the lethal murder pill, Mifepristone, RU 486. The drug acts by killing the tiny child by starvation.
This is an important issue, In 2011 the FPA announced that it was its intention to seek an abortion licence for each of
its 30 clinics in New Zealand. Right to Life believes that the FPA has delayed seeking further abortion licences until
the High Court has made its Declaratory Judgement.
Ken Orr
Spokesperson,
Right to Life.