MEDIA RELEASE

Voice for Life Welcomes High Court Judgment

We congratulate Right to Life on obtaining a High Court judgment recognizing that the Abortion Supervisory Committee has permitted abortion on request.

We welcome Justice Miller’s judgment recognizing that an unborn child has a claim on the conscience of the community, and not only that of its mother.

We welcome, albeit with sadness, acknowledgment that the law is being used more liberally than was intended by Parliament.

This landmark judgment is an opportunity for an honest examination by Parliament and the medical profession on how women are affected by abortion.

The 2005 Christchurch Health and Development Study into mental health and abortion, found that 42% of the women studied had “elevated rates of subsequent mental health problems, including depression, anxiety, suicidal behaviours and substance use disorders.”

The Study completely undermined the official reason for granting abortions on mental health grounds. Professor David Fergusson, the Study team leader, called for more research to be commissioned.

In November 2006, the Ministry of Health, the Ministry of Justice and the Abortion Supervisory Committee, declined to commission any further research and the NZ Medical Council remained silent.

We hope that this judgment will break through the conspiracy of silence that denies women their right to full information about how an abortion decision will affect them.

Voice for Life calls for further, properly researched scientific assessment into abortion and women’s mental health, as a vital basis for rational consideration of future policy.

ENDS

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