The march in Wellington on Friday 12 February was covered in the Gisborne Herald on 15 Feb, 2010 – a scan of the article is below, followed by text.

March to stop ‘abortion pill’

WELLINGTON — Hundreds braved the wild Wellington weather to express their concern at the Family Planning Association (FPA)application for a licence to perform abortions in their clinics.
Stop Family Planning was pleased at the turnout at Friday’s march from Civic Square to the steps of Parliament organised to oppose the FPA’s application for an abortion licence.
March organiser and Stop Family Planning spokesperson Simeon Brown said that the turnout indicated strong support for their call for the Abortion Supervisory Committee to deny the FPA an abortion licence to kill babies with the dangerous abortifacient, Mifepristone (RU-486).
Currently, 18,000 abortions are committed in New Zealand every year.
“We all agree that too many abortions are occurring in New Zealand. If this application is approved it will only increase that number,” Mr Brown said.
“The voice of New Zealand is clear. The Abortion Supervisory Committee must deny the FPA a licence to kill pre-born children up to 9weeks.”
Stop Family Planning will continue to oppose the FPA being granted an abortion licence.
In an open letter to Prime Minister John Key and Health Minister Tony Ryall, Mr Brown and Prolife NZ spokesperson Lydia Moore asked they do whatever they could to disallow a licence to the FPA to committ abortions in their clinics.
“The FPA is New Zealand’s primary sexual health educator, which means there is a conflict of interest: they may be biased in their educating as performing abortions will be part of their service,” the letter said.
The march was also supported by Family First NZ, ProLife NZ and Right to Life.
Bob McCoskrie, national director of Family First NZ says this will mean that Family Planning will be able to talk women into having abortions, and then carry the procedure out on them.
“There is a huge conflict of interest here. Those offering advice should not be the ones performing the abortions,” Mr McCoskrie said.
“There is also huge concern about the drug’s considerable harmful effects on women’s health, with a US track record that includes deaths and over 1000 reports of complications — many of them serious or life-threatening. RU-486 has produced none of the effects of normalising abortion that were predicted for it.”
The US FDA has released reports of complications including death resulting from:
• haemorrhage (excessive bleeding)
• serious and sometimes fatal infections
• missed diagnoses of ectopic pregnancy (outside the uterus, usually in the fallopian tube).
Up to 10 percent of women will still require surgical abortions to complete the process and there have been at least five deaths in the US that resulted directly from severe infection in the blood stream of women who took RU-486 orally.
Edouard Sakiz, chairman of Roussel Uclaf, the company that first marketed RU-486 said: “As abortifacient procedures go, RU-486 is not at all easy to use
. . . a woman who wants to end her pregnancy has to ‘live’ with her abortion for at least a week using this technique. It’s an appalling psychological ordeal.”
And Dr. Etienne-Emile Baulieu, the inventor of RU-486 said: “It’s insulting to women to say that abortion now will be as easy as taking aspirins. It is always difficult, psychologically and physically, sometimes tragic.”
Family First is calling for informed consent — including ultrasound — for women considering an abortion, and a ‘cooling period’ before making the decision.
They also want parental notification for teenagers who are seeking an abortion.
“We believe women and teenage girls are entitled to the truth when faced with an unplanned pregnancy, including all the options available.
“They should not be exploited by Family Planning who have a conflict of interest, including a financial conflict of interest,” says Mr McCoskrie.
Prolife NZ spokesperson Lydia Moore was one of the speakers to address the rally at Parliament. Right to Life also supported the march.
The FPA declined to be interviewed on TVNZ with Mr Brown.

Following a highly successful march to Parliament to oppose the Family Planning Association’s application for an abortion licence, Simeon Brown, spokesperson of Stop Family Planning, and Lydia Moore, spokesperson of Prolife NZ wrote an open letter to the Prime Minister of New Zealand John Key, and the Minister of Health, Tony Ryall, asking them to take a serious look at NZ’s outrageously high abortion rate, and the FPA’s application. The letter is reproduced below.

12 February 2010

Open letter to Prime Minister John Key
CC’d Tony Ryall Minister of Health

Dear John,

As you will be aware, Stop Family Planning held a march today to protest the granting of an abortion license to the Family Planning Association (FPA). Hundreds of people marched from Civic Square to Parliament steps, where they were addressed by speakers from Voice for Life, Stop Family Planning and the youth-based group, Prolife NZ.

There is now a groundswell of public opinion that the New Zealand abortion rate must be reduced: currently there are over 18,000 abortions being committed each year, a rate that is one of the highest in the world. Today’s march only confirmed this general feeling.

Our country’s youth are passionate in their belief that women need to be well informed of the dangers of the chemical abortifacient, Mifepristone, a drug that causes terrible side effects and has killed many women internationally. Our countries youth are also concerned that our already high abortion rate will rise if the FPA are granted a license.

The FPA is New Zealand’s primary sexual health educator, which means there is a conflict of interest: they may be biased in their educating as performing abortions will beart of their service.

We ask you to do whatever you can in your power to disallow a license to the FPA to commit abortions in their clinics.

We would like to ask to meet with you to discuss this matter further as we believe it is an issue which needs careful consideration of the differing view points.

Yours Faithfully,

Lydia Moore (18yrs)
ProLife New Zealand

Simeon Brown (18yrs)
Stop Family Planning

On 12 Feb. 2010, Stop Family Planning spokesperson Simeon Brown was interviewed by Pippa Wetzell on the Breakfast Programme on TV1. The video is below.

Stop Family Planning
12 February 2010
Media Release

Stop Family Planning was pleased at the turnout at a march in Wellington today organised to oppose the Family Planning Association’s application for an abortion licence.

March organiser and Stop Family Planning spokesperson Simeon Brown said that the turnout indicated strong support for their call for the Abortion Supervisory Committee to deny the Family Planning Association an abortion licence to kill babies with the dangerous abortifacient, Mifepristone.

“Hundreds braved the wild Wellington weather to express their concern at the Family Planning Association being given a licence to perform abortions in their clinics,” said Mr Brown.

Currently, 18,000 abortions are committed in New Zealand every year.

“We all agree that too many abortions are occurring in New Zealand. If this application is approved it will only increase that number”, he continued. “The voice of New Zealand is clear. The Abortion Supervisory Committee must deny the FPA a licence to kill pre-born children up to 9weeks.”

Stop Family Planning will continue to oppose the Family Planning Association being granted an abortion licence.

ENDS

More Information:
Contact Simeon Brown
021 02724242

Family First Press Release, 11 Feb, 2010

Family First NZ is supporting a march to the steps of Parliament tomorrow protesting against Family Planning applying to the Abortion Supervisory Committee for a license to use the abortion pill RU486 to perform abortions.

“This will mean that Family Planning will be able to talk women into having abortions, and then carry the procedure out on them,” says Bob McCoskrie, National Director of Family First NZ. “There is a huge conflict of interest here. Those offering advice shouldn’t be the ones performing the abortions.”

“There is also huge concern about the drug’s considerable harmful effects on women’s health, with a US track record that includes deaths and over a thousand reports of complications – many of them serious or life-threatening. RU-486 has produced none of the effects of normalising abortion that were predicted for it.”

The US FDA has released reports of complications including death resulting from:

1. haemorrhage (excessive bleeding)
2. serious and sometimes fatal infections
3. missed diagnoses of ectopic pregnancy (outside the uterus, usually in the fallopian tube)

Up to 10% of women will still require surgical abortions to complete the process and there have been at least five deaths in the US that resulted directly from severe infection in the blood stream of women who took RU-486 orally.

Edouard Sakiz, chairman of Roussel Uclaf, the company that first marketed RU-486 said “As abortifacient procedures go, RU-486 is not at all easy to use . . . a woman who wants to end her pregnancy has to ‘live’ with her abortion for at least a week using this technique. It’s an appalling psychological ordeal.”

And Dr. Etienne-Emile Baulieu, the inventor of RU-486 “It’s insulting to women to say that abortion now will be as easy as taking aspirins. It is always difficult, psychologically and physically, sometimes tragic.”

Family First is calling for informed consent (including ultrasound) for women considering an abortion, and a ‘cooling period’ before making the decision. They also want parental notification for teenagers who are seeking an abortion.

“We believe women and teenage girls are entitled to the truth when faced with an unplanned pregnancy, including all the options available. They should not be exploited by Family Planning who have a conflict of interest, including a financial conflict of interest,” says Mr McCoskrie.

ENDS

Right to Life Press Release, 12 Feb, 2010

Right to Life supports the march to Parliament today 12 February, organised by [Stop Family Planning] to oppose Family Planning being granted a licence to kill unborn children. The Association proposes to provide medical abortions with the lethal murder pill, Mifegyne RU 486 for babies in their first nine weeks of life at its Hamilton clinic. It hopes to eventually obtain abortion licences for its other 29 clinics. This human pesticide RU 486 is lethal in causing the death of unborn children by starvation and is dangerous for women’s health, 13 women have died worldwide after using this drug.

The High Court has stated in a judgment by Justice Miller that there are serious concerns about the lawfulness of many abortions authorised in New Zealand. In the event that Family Planning obtained an abortion licence our Society would have serious concerns about the lawfulness of abortions authorised by Family Planning doctors.

It is Family Planning’s objective to obtain government funding for providing abortions. Right to Life is disappointed that the Minister of Health Tony Ryall is not prepared to intervene to stop the Waikato District Health Board from giving the Association funding provided by the taxpayer. There are many taxpayers who are totally opposed to their taxes being used to kill unborn children. Our taxes should be used to protect life not destroy it. It is scandalous that the government which proclaims that it wants to promote family life should use our taxes to kill unborn children, the weakest and most defenceless members of the human family.

Family Planning in announcing its plans for our families proclaims that it is providing a service to women by providing them with choice and access. This is an appalling falsehood, Women faced with an unplanned pregnancy don’t need choice in the way their child is to be killed or access to a killing clinic. Women need support, compassion and practical help for them to give life to their baby. If Family Planning really cared about the welfare of vulnerable women and their unborn child they would be providing women with real choice by providing them with the support needed to protect both the mother and her child.

Family Planning is a member of the International Planned Parenthood Federation which promotes contraception and abortion worldwide they are the leaders in promoting a culture of death. Right to Life calls upon the government to stop Family Planning killing unborn children by refusing government funding.

ENDS

Ken Orr
Spokesperson