Latest New Zealand Stats Show Abortions Reach Second Highest Level Ever
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by Steven Ertelt
LifeNews.com Editor
June 16, 2008
Wellington, New Zealand (LifeNews.com) — The latest statistics from the New Zealand government show the number of abortions increased slightly from 2006 to 2007. Pro-life groups decried the new figures because they indicate the island nation saw its second highest abortion total since abortions became legal.
Statistics New Zealand shows 18,380 abortions reported for 2007, an increase of 450 abortions over the 17,930 reported in 2,006.
The numbers results in a 2.5 percent increase in the number of abortions during the one-year period.
"Each abortion is a tragedy for the unborn child that is destroyed and for the mother who is the second victim of abortion," Ken Orr of Right to Life of New Zealand, told LifeNews.com.
"Abortion is the ultimate in domestic violence and in child abuse; women will not be safe until the law effectively protects them and their unborn," he added. "Often it is not women who choose abortion, it is often a decision made by others."
He pointed to American studies showing as many as 64 percent of abortions involve some sort of pressure or coercion from a parent, partner, employer or someone else.
Orr complained that there were just 90 non-family adoptions in New Zealand last year.
"There are thousands of loving families that long to adopt these babies. Why does the government not promote adoption as a loving option?" he asked.
Brendan Malone of Family Life International also commented on the higher abortion numbers and bemoaned the upward trend.
"If this current trend continues as it has for the last two years, then next year the number of induced abortions in New Zealand will be higher than it has ever been before in our history," he told LifeNews.com.
Both Malone and Orr pointed to the public abortion debate during the last week after a judge agreed with pro-life groups that abortions there are wrongly approved on mental health grounds.
The governmental agency’s report showed 98.9% of the abortions were approved on mental health grounds.
Saying abortions are needed for supposed mental health reasons allowed them to be legal later in pregnancy.
But Right To Life New Zealand asked for a review of the information and challenged the assessment from abortion facilities across the country that so many women need abortions for mental health reasons.
Justice Forrest Miller issued a review of the data from the committee and said there is reason to doubt the legitimacy of the claims that the abortions were needed for psychological concerns.
