Anti-abortion group denied appeal
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Anti-abortion lobby group Right to Life is disappointed the Supreme Court did not allow it to appeal a decision which ruled against recognising unborn children as human beings.
In June the Court of Appeal ruled the law did not recognise or confer a right to life on the unborn child when it quashed a High Court judge's findings that doubted the lawfulness of many abortions in New Zealand.
Yesterday, the Supreme Court said Right To Life could appeal part of that ruling but declined to grant leave to appeal the legal recognition of children before birth as human beings.
Right to Life spokesman Ken Orr said it was disappointed the court was not prepared to consider submissions on the humanity of unborn children.
''How does society enhance the status of women by denying that her child in the womb is not a human being until it is born?''
However, the group was pleased it would be able to appeal over the role of certifying consultants, Mr Orr said.
''There is reason to doubt the lawfulness of many abortions authorised by certifying consultant.''
The Supreme Court justices, John McGrath, Andrew Tipping and Peter Blanchard, said the grounds approved for appeal were:
- Whether the committee had the power to review or scrutinise the decisions of certifying consultants and form its own view about the lawfulness of their decisions;
- If there was any foundation for the High Court's finding that approval rates for abortions seemed to be ''remarkably high''
- And whether the High Court had jurisdiction to consider if certifying consultants were obeying the ''abortion law'' and, if so, whether there was any foundation for its finding that ''there is reason to doubt the lawfulness of many abortions authorised by certifying consultants.''
- NZPA
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Our abortion laws are archaic. It's embarrassing. I agree with Geegs. Cheap, safe, without apology. Consent to sex is not consent to pregnancy, and sex shouldn't be "punished" by imprisonment in a pregnant body for nine months (or, for that matter, by a child). I do get worried about contraception failing because of the crap women in NZ have to go through to get an abortion.
And hell, sterilisation should be easier and cheaper. It costs upwards of $5000 to get sterilised as a woman, not something many of us can afford, and some doctors won't perform one unless you're of a certain age and already have kids. If these operations were easier to obtain, that might cut down on the number of abortions - just a little, sure, but better to prevent a pregnancy than to end one.
Steve P: I agree that forcing men to pay for children they didn't want is unfair. Obviously there are legal issues, such as whether they made it clear they wanted the child when abortion was discussed. But forcing a man into parenthood if he doesn't want a child is unfair. If he wants to cut ties with his partner and leave, I think he should be able to do that, just as women should be able to decide whether or not they want to be a mother.
Phil (Dunedin): If the father wants to carry the baby in his abdomen for nine months, he is welcome to do so. The sad truth is that pregnancy does horrible, horrible things to women's bodies, some of which are irreversible, some of which lead to medical complications later in life. Such as prolapse. Ew. No one should have to go through that if they don't want to. You are not required to give up a kidney to a person who requires one to live, neither should you be required to give the use of your body to a foetus.
Not your body, not your business. A person should always have a choice when it comes to their medical treatment and their lives. Saying that many woman are using abortion as a contraception is just plain ignorant, would be interested in seeing the statistics behind that claim.
"what about the guy involved in the situation?"
Tell ya what, Phil...
How about we force you to have the foetus surgically implanted inside of you, and you get to carry it to term and give birth to it.
looloo #16: The link between abortion and breast cancer is, as I understand it, in many ways similar to smoking and lung cancer. There are plenty of smokers who don't get cancer and also non-smokers who do. However, few now dispute that if you plan to get lung cancer then smoking sure ups your chances. There are also women who have never had an abortion who get breast cancer and women who have had multiple abortions who don't. Never-the-less the breast cancer rate is higher in those who have had abortions.
Jess #8: It sounds fine to be "pro choice". Ok, now which party in this pregnancy should get the choice? Some would say that this is a silly question as the baby cannot speak. But even when born it still can't venture an opinion. However, try to snuff it's little life out and I think you will find it tries to resist. Horrible to think, about but there you have an answer from one of the parties involved.
looloo #16
No, I don't believe you - and nobody should.
Fact: SOME women who have an abortion will end up getting Breast Cancer.
Fact: SOME women who have children over the age of 30 will end up getting breast cancer.
Fact: SOME women who use birth control pills will end up getting breast cancer.
What's your point?
What a lazy and unbelievably juvenile attempt at scaremongering. Do your research "looloo", otherwise you end up just sounding ill-informed and ignorant - something you successfully demonstrated in your post.
You should be ashamed of yourself. Seriously.
I'm a woman and I'm against abortion, except in cases where carrying the baby to term would put the mother's life at risk. How does something 'not human' become something 'human' just by time passing? I like to think that human life is more special than that. So if we wouldn't end a life a year after its conception, why would we do so at any other time? Also, I'm all for equality and I believe women are intelligent and capable - enough so that they can choose when and when not to have sex, understand actions and consequences, and provide for their child in their own way (even if this means giving the baby up for adoption).
My wife and I are around 45 years old, married 10 years, have an annual income of around $220,000 and live in 20 acres in a property valued at $1.5 million. No criminal convictions or anything like that. We have never even met a criminal as far as I know.
We were told we were not suitable for adopting because we were too old.....!
Yet if it were possible, we could produce as many of our own children as we like to grow up in comfort and plenty.
Go figure.
A human being becomes a human being the minute it appears in fresh air and breathes unaided.
Not before. Until then it is merely a potential human being.
fact-women who have abortion, end up getting Breast Cancer. Abortion kills the baby inside you and ends up killing yourself.If you dont believe me, check it out for youself.
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@ Annan #24
"Consent to sex is not consent to pregnancy" - that is exactly like saying 'pointing a gun at someone and pulling the trigger is not intent to murder'. what pro-abortion people are saying is that it is ok to murder helpless babies. and when abortion does not go as planned everything is hushed up, like the 10 y.o. girl in the state who won tens of millions of dollars from the doctor as she survived the abortion with horrific injuries.