Tuesday July 18, 2006

Amnesty International Getting Cold Feet over Abortion Support, New Zealand Branch Clarifies

By John-Henry Westen

WELLINGTON, July 18, 2006 (LifeSiteNews.com) - Last week Brian Murphy, the International Religion Writer for the Associated Press, spoke with LifeSiteNews.com about the Amnesty International (AI) move to consider advocating for abortion as a human right.  Murphy told LifeSiteNews.com that the leadership at AI in London, England are nervous about the issue as it is causing internal unrest.

The matter of greatest concern to AI is the fact that donors will reconsider their support for the organization as it enters abortion advocacy.  Statements by Christian church leaders, including a recent statement from the Vatican, expressing dismay at AI's proposed direction, warn that support for AI will suffer.

The internal division over the matter is also exemplified by AI New Zealand.  LifeSiteNews.com reported in May that the New Zealand branch of AI had approved the measure to enter abortion advocacy.  That report was based on the outcome of voting on the proposal at the regional AI chapter in New Zealand and a resulting press release decrying the vote by Right to Life New Zealand.

AI New Zealand has clarified however that while the organization did vote with a slight majority in favour of abortion advocacy, the governing council has not approved it.

Ced Simpson, Executive Director of Amnesty International Aotearoa New Zealand explained to LifeSiteNews.com that "It is not the practice of AINZ to adopt policy on very internally-contentious issues on the basis of a narrow 'vote'." 

Simpson said that a vote revealed that "A small majority thought AI should take a position calling for legal, safe and accessible abortion in cases of rape, sexual assault, incest and risk to a woman's life."  Another vote showed that "A large majority thought AI should take a position calling for access to quality services for the management of complications arising from abortion."

Simpson explained, "The Governance Team considered that only the second issue had clear support."

Simpson added, "AINZ members have explicitly recognised the strongly held belief of many AI members that the human right to life begins at conception, and that the most-ratified human rights treaty - the Convention on the Rights of the Child - asserts that 'the child...needs special safeguards and care...before as well as after birth'".

URL: http://www.lifesitenews.com/ldn/2006/jul/06071805.html

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