227:(SOS), regarding it as an attempt to circumvent New Zealand's abortion legislation. SPUC also vetted candidates for the Abortion Supervisory Committee, objecting to certifying consultants which it deemed to be pro-abortion while seeking the appointment of anti-abortion doctors. In 1980, SPUC successfully secured the removal of two members of the Abortion Supervisory Committee (ASC) by arguing that they had been promoting abortion by encouraging hospital boards to establish abortion services. However, the replacement members did not support SPUC's anti-abortion agenda. That same year, two SPUC–backed candidates were elected to Wellington hospital board. In 1987, SPUC's
34:
250:, in which an anti-abortion doctor named Melvyn Wall attempted a legal challenge to an abortion for a fifteen-year-old girl that had been approved by two certifying consultants. Wall lost the case, with Justice Speight ruling that the fetus could not be represented and had no statutory rights until born and that the decisions of certifying consultants were beyond judicial review. This decision has served as a legal precedent for protecting women's access to abortion services in New Zealand.
299:, who strongly opposed abortion. After repeated delays, the booklet was published. In September 1988, the ministry sent out 25,000 copies of the 18-page booklet, "Considering an Abortion? What are your Options?" However, the booklets were returned to the ministry by both the New Zealand Family Planning Council and counselors at some clinics that provided abortions, although some general practitioners kept and used them. The booklet has not been reprinted.
99:, who became the organisation's first president, and fellow Auckland doctor Patrick Dunn, the leader of the Family Rights Association. Liley was an obstetrician and gynaecologist internationally renowned as the "father of foetology", the pioneering science of life in the womb. He was deeply disturbed by the changes in the British medical profession following the passing of the
390:(NCI), evaluated the science on the issue and decided that the claim was unfounded. The NCI published a fact sheet on its website explaining the science and concluding that abortion did not increase the risk of breast cancer, before 2000, which was taken down after George W. Bush was elected U.S. president. A similar study early in 2003 reached the same conclusion.
204:
oversees the working of the Act under which 98% of all abortions are approved on mental health grounds. However, while it appoints certifying consultants, it has no power to breach doctor/patient medical confidentiality, nor is it able to remove certifying consultants once appointed. While abortion
186:
proposed amendments restricting the criteria for abortions and scrutinising the list of certifying medical consultants. Following a series of heated debates, Parliament adopted the Birch
Amendment, which stipulated that abortions could only be authorised by two certifying consultants, and the Brill
273:
In 1991, SPUC Dunedin branch leader O'Neill led a challenge to the validity of abortion licenses throughout New
Zealand, leading to the temporary suspension of services in Dunedin on the grounds of a legal technicality connected with the change from the Hospitals Act 1975 to the Area Health Boards
337:
government. According to McCulloch, tensions between Pryor and Orr dated back to 1980. In response, SPUC demanded that the
Christchurch branch cease using the SPUC name in its lobbying activities and also told the media and politicians that Orr no longer represented the organisation. In September
332:
In 2000, policy differences between the SPUC national leadership and the
Christchurch branch led to the expulsion of the latter from the national organisation. Ken Orr, the Christchurch branch's spokesperson, wanted to push for abortion legislation but the national leadership wanted to wait for a
155:
and wider public. The
Commission recommended decriminalising abortion when the pregnancy posed a serious danger to the life, physical and mental health of the mother. SPUC cautiously welcomed the Commission's report for affirming the rights of the unborn child while expressing concern about using
269:
introduced the
Contraception, Sterilisation and Abortion Repeal Bill as a counterweight to Kidd's bill. Waring also leaked news about Kidd's affair with a parliamentary secretary. Ultimately, both Kidd and Waring's bills were defeated and no significant changes were made to abortion legislation.
26:
362:. As with the previous Death With Dignity Bill introduced in 1995, the private members bill was defeated at its first reading, but under a much narrower margin (60-58). Again, Voice for Life and other anti-euthanasia organisations opposed the decriminalisation bill and applauded its defeat.
473:. Voice for Life's advocacy and communications activities have included stalls at public events, newspaper adverts, distributing informational material, contacts with the media, and lobbying politicians. As of 2020, the current Voice for Life President is Kate Cormack.
433:, which would decriminalise abortion and ease restrictions on abortion access. New Zealand anti-abortionists failed to halt the decriminalisation of abortion, however, as the Abortion Legislation Act 2019 passed its third reading and became law on 24 March 2020.
374:, a private breast surgeon, who claimed that abortion increased the risk of breast cancer. The CV provided by SPUC showed that Lanfranchi has one publication to her name. The booklet she wrote on the subject is distributed by abortion foe Babette Francis of the
103:
and wrote numerous articles for NZ newspapers and journals explaining the humanity of the embryo and foetus from conception and the case for effective protection. The organisation should not be confused with the similarly motivated and named, UK-based
205:
rights advocates were dismayed with the limitations of the CS&A ACt, SPUC regarded the new law as a victory since it placed safeguards and limits on abortion operations. The year 1977 marked the high point of SPUC's success as a lobby group.
274:
Act. As a result, ten abortion operations scheduled for that day were cancelled at short notice. As a result of O'Neill's success, SPUC began coordinating complains in other New
Zealand regions, leading to the suspension of abortion services in
323:
into the New
Zealand Parliament. However, the Death With Dignity Bill 1995 failed to pass its first reading after opposition from SPUC, the New Zealand Conference of Catholic Bishops and other opponents. The margin of defeat was heavy (61-29).
265:. The SPUC leadership had worked with the lawyer Nigel Jamieson to design the Status of the Unborn Child Bill. At SPUC's invitation, Kidd agreed to sponsor the bill. In response to the bill, the feminist National Member of Parliament
187:
Amendment, which eliminated soci-economic considerations as a factor for assessing the health of prospective abortion patients. During the parliamentary debate, SPUC also sponsored an anti-abortion advertisement in the tabloid
278:
for four days. O'Neill's oldest daughter Mary was also involved in anti-abortion protests at hospitals. In 1991, she was convicted of trespassing at a hospital following an aggressive hospital invasion in
December 1989.
222:
Following the decriminalisation of abortion, SPUC mounted various campaigns to ensure that healthcare providers adhered to the
Contraception, Sterilisation and Abortion Act. SPUC leader Pryor was critical of the
406:
to highlight the number of abortions in New Zealand the previous year. Their presence attracted a counter-demonstration by pro-abortion rights protesters, some of whom donned handmaid's uniforms based on
131:
Parliamentarians wrestled with the problem of how to reconcile protection for the fertilised egg, embryo, or foetus with the needs of women who were seeking abortions. In 1975, Parliament passed
270:
While Pryor blamed the Status of the Unborn Child Bill's hasty introduction for its defeat, journalist Alison McCulloch attributed the bill's defeat to Waring's counter-bill and Kidd's affair.
235:'s Justice and Law Reform Select Committee demanding the removal of the entire ASC committee including the SPUC-backed replacements on the grounds that it had failed to carry out its functions
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managed to pass an amendment deferring it by twelve months. In March and April 1976, the Royal Commission released its report on contraception, abortion, and sterilisation to the
847:
125:
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2020, but were unable to halt either its parliamentary passage, or its ratification within a subsequent binding referendum on the legislation held concurrently with the
287:
In the 1990s, SPUC, concerned about the information provided to unwillingly pregnant women seeking abortions, started an initiative that resulted in New Zealand's
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167:
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969:
214:
editor Jack Kelliher credited SPUC leader J.D. Dalgety and his organisation for their role in influencing the debate around the CS&A Act 1977.
95:
Voice for Life was founded in March 1970, as the Society for the Protection of the Unborn Child, by pioneering New Zealand foetal surgeon Professor
680:
370:
Voice for Life in the mid-2000s ran nationwide advertisements on a questionable "abortion-breast cancer" link. In 2003 they brought to Australia
992:
457:
As of 2019, Voice for Life has 30 branches across New Zealand and 4,500 members. Besides abortion, Voice for Life has also spoken out against
105:
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1237:
839:
116:
The abortion debate of the 1960s and 1970s stirred powerful passions, particularly as "reproductive freedom" was at the forefront of
358:
introduced a second incarnation of the Death With Dignity Bill into the New Zealand Parliament, which again sought to decriminalise
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On 15 December, the Contraception, Sterilisation and Abortion Act passed its third reading and became law. It amended the
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attempted to entrench Wall's bill through the Health Amendment Bill 1976 but pro-abortion rights National MP
17:
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to allow certain grounds for abortion and established the legal framework for performing abortions. The
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449:. Two-thirds of voters supported ratification of the Act, which came into force on 6 November 2021
224:
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as well as abortion, but was unsuccessful in preventing the decriminalisation of either in 2020.
56:
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124:. SPUC played a major advocacy role in a divided Parliament, which in 1975 established a
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242:, the New Zealand anti-abortion movement suffered a devastating defeat in the 1982
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Voice for Life and other anti-euthanasia organisations fought the passage of the
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139:'s Hospital Amendment Act, which limited abortion services to public hospitals.
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78:. In recent years, it has strongly campaigned against the decriminalisation of
59:
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equating abortion with murder, which attracted considerable public outrage.
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63:
53:
1073:"Abortion Legislation Bill passes third and final reading in Parliament"
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In late July 2018, Voice for Life President Jacqui de Ruiters and other
128:. By 1975, SPUC had grown to more than 40,000 members with 56 branches.
594:
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175:
75:
425:
In September 2019, Voice for Life also sent a submission opposing the
311:
temporarily decriminalised euthanasia in that area of Australia, then-
25:
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2000, the Christchurch branch formally seceded from SPUC and became
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introduced a SPUC–inspired private members bill called the
228:
71:
1051:"VFL's Written Submission to the Abortion Legislation Committee"
654:
436:
1154:
Fighting to Choose: The Abortion Rights Struggle in New Zealand
462:
402:
demonstrators laid 13,285 pairs of booties on the lawn of the
126:
Royal Commission on Contraception, Sterilisation and Abortion
1024:"To the Barricades: The battle over abortion forty years on"
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779:
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217:
606:
238:
According to its official historian, late former president
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993:"Pro-lifers cover Parliament's lawn with babies' booties"
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Not to be confused with the Voice for Life scheme of the
914:"Health Facts: No, Abortion Doesn't Cause Breast Cancer"
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1189:
The Right to Life: The Abortion Battle of New Zealand
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528:
111:
37:
A roadside sign in the South Island opposing abortion
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342:. In 2004, SPUC revamped itself as Voice for Life.
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168:Contraception, Sterilisation and Abortion Act 1977
1012:
1219:
834:
832:
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156:mental health as a loophole to allow abortions.
968:. National Cancer Institute. 20 February 2003.
966:"Abortion, Miscarriage, and Breast Cancer Risk"
345:
302:
231:branch leader John O'Neill appeared before the
218:Legal challenges to abortion, 1980s–1990s
452:
46:Society for the Protection of the Unborn Child
874:
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437:Decriminalisation of euthanasia, October 2020
319:introduced an analogous voluntary euthanasia
170:(CS&A Act 1977) into Parliament. Several
106:Society for the Protection of Unborn Children
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365:
282:
1228:Anti-abortion organisations in New Zealand
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681:"Voice for Life, formerly SPUC - History"
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421:Decriminalisation of abortion, March 2020
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713:Te Ara - the Encyclopedia of New Zealand
576:Te Ara - The Encyclopedia of New Zealand
32:
24:
1021:
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888:Te Ara: the Encyclopedia of New Zealand
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571:"Opposition and support from the 1960s"
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940:"Is Abortion Linked to Breast Cancer?"
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291:producing an information booklet. The
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972:from the original on 21 December 2010
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737:
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108:, which is also abbreviated to SPUC.
946:from the original on 31 January 2011
880:
850:from the original on 5 February 2021
705:
666:
568:
393:
1053:. Voice for Life. 22 September 2019
1022:Trevett, Claire (1 December 2018).
174:politicians including National MPs
13:
1233:1970 establishments in New Zealand
1144:
1085:from the original on 30 March 2020
112:Response to abortion reform, 1970s
14:
1249:
1238:Organizations established in 1970
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883:"Abortion: 1990s to 21st century"
447:New Zealand general election 2020
683:. Voice for Life. Archived from
1119:
1065:
1043:
984:
958:
918:National Women's Health Network
906:
881:Cook, Megan (8 November 2018).
767:
706:Cook, Megan (8 November 2018).
603:, pp. 21ā23, 70ā71, 76ā77.
569:Cook, Megan (8 November 2018).
427:Labour-led coalition government
380:National Women's Health Network
263:Status of the Unborn Child Bill
991:Jolliff, Emma (25 July 2018).
388:U.S. National Cancer Institute
202:Abortion Supervisory Committee
62:. It has also lobbied against
1:
840:"Assisted dying: New Zealand"
488:
431:Abortion Legislation Act 2020
708:"Controversy: 1974 to 1980s"
346:Death With Dignity Bill 2003
303:Death With Dignity Bill 1995
18:Royal School of Church Music
7:
942:. American Cancer Society.
663:, pp. 100ā108, 119ā21.
476:
453:Organisation and activities
122:women's liberation movement
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10:
1254:
1191:. Auckland: Haelen Books.
1151:McCulloch, Alison (2013).
313:New Zealand National Party
182:, and Labour MPs Wall and
85:
15:
366:Breast cancer controversy
360:euthanasia in New Zealand
340:Right to Life New Zealand
80:euthanasia in New Zealand
283:Informed Consent booklet
225:Sisters Overseas Service
44:, formerly known as the
1187:Pryor, Marilyn (1986).
1159:Wellington, New Zealand
483:Abortion in New Zealand
384:American Cancer Society
893:New Zealand Government
844:New Zealand Parliament
718:New Zealand Government
581:New Zealand Government
550:. Voice for Life. 2014
514:"Vision & Mission"
443:End of Life Choice Act
404:New Zealand Parliament
233:New Zealand Parliament
38:
30:
461:, experimentation on
257:Member of Parliament
36:
28:
328:Anti-abortion schism
321:private members bill
118:second-wave feminism
846:. 5 February 2021.
812:, pp. 243ā252.
800:, pp. 229ā231.
788:, pp. 238ā239.
764:, pp. 218ā226.
752:, pp. 240ā241.
740:, pp. 126ā138.
615:, pp. 180ā182.
414:The Handmaid's Tale
307:In 1995, after the
244:Auckland High Court
68:embryonic stem cell
29:Voice for Life logo
1165:University Press.
1029:New Zealand Herald
774:Wall v Linvingston
378:of Australia. The
309:Northern Territory
293:Minister of Health
289:Ministry of Health
39:
31:
1172:978-0-86473-886-8
1081:. 18 March 2020.
1078:Radio New Zealand
871:, pp. 73ā74.
651:, pp. 84ā99.
639:, pp. 71ā81.
537:, pp. 11ā12.
394:Recent activities
382:, along with the
372:Angela Lanfranchi
352:New Zealand First
248:Wall v Livingston
190:New Zealand Truth
101:Abortion Act 1967
97:Sir William Liley
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1178:29 September
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1105:"Who We Are"
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158:
130:
115:
94:
49:
45:
41:
40:
22:
459:infanticide
356:Peter Brown
180:Barry Brill
149:George Gair
137:Gerard Wall
64:infanticide
54:New Zealand
1222:Categories
810:Pryor 1986
762:Pryor 1986
738:Pryor 1986
661:Pryor 1986
649:Pryor 1986
637:Pryor 1986
625:Pryor 1986
535:Pryor 1986
489:References
471:euthanasia
176:Bill Birch
145:Frank Gill
76:euthanasia
70:research,
1133:6 October
1111:6 October
1057:6 October
1035:6 October
1004:6 October
976:6 October
950:6 October
924:6 October
898:3 October
723:6 October
691:6 October
554:4 October
548:"History"
520:4 October
350:In 2003,
259:Doug Kidd
253:In 1983,
1163:Victoria
1089:30 March
1083:Archived
970:Archived
944:Archived
854:30 March
848:Archived
477:See also
386:and the
255:National
120:and the
91:Founding
52:), is a
1127:"Media"
998:Newshub
467:cloning
463:embryos
333:strong
276:Waikato
229:Dunedin
86:History
72:cloning
1195:
1169:
920:. 2015
212:'s
133:Labour
246:case
1193:ISBN
1180:2019
1167:ISBN
1135:2019
1113:2019
1091:2021
1059:2019
1037:2019
1006:2019
978:2019
952:2019
926:2019
900:2019
856:2021
725:2019
693:2019
588:2019
556:2019
522:2019
469:and
178:and
74:and
50:SPUC
429:'s
411:'s
315:MP
143:MP
135:MP
1224::
1161::
1157:.
1075:.
1026:.
1014:^
995:.
916:.
891:.
885:.
842:.
829:^
716:.
710:.
668:^
579:.
573:.
465:,
417:.
66:,
1201:.
1182:.
1137:.
1115:.
1093:.
1061:.
1039:.
1008:.
980:.
954:.
928:.
902:.
858:.
727:.
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590:.
558:.
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