WELLINGTON, New Zealand, May 28, 2015 (LifeSiteNews.com) A mother petitioned the New Zealand government this week to pass legislation that would ensure parents are notified of their teenage daughter’s pregnancy, prior to any decisions or referrals for abortion.
The petition, signed by Hillary Kieft and six other people, was presented to Whanganui MP, Hon. Chester Borrows.
Parliament is asked to pass legislation requiring a parent of a girl under 16 to be informed of her confirmed pregnancy before she is “referred for any resulting medical procedure, and that any consent sought for the medical procedure be fully informed as to procedure, possible repercussions, and after-effects.”
Kieft, a mother of six, was devastated when she found out that her daughter had been taken during school hours for an abortion, at the age of 15, without her knowledge or consent.
The abortion was only revealed to the family when her daughter attempted suicide, after a year of depression, self-hatred, anger, alcohol and substance abuse.
“As a mother, how do you deal with that?” Kieft told participants at a Family First Forum in 2014. “Our daughter survived by the Grace of God, she survived. But life has never been the same.”
While parents must sign consent forms for field trips, basic first aid care and dental treatment, when it comes to abortion, the Care of Children Act, 2004, gives girls of any age the ability to have the procedure without the knowledge or consent of her parents.
Abortions are known to be arranged during school hours by school counselors, health nurses, or other staff members. Family Planning and other sexual health agencies are also complicit in secret abortions.
Family Planning, an affiliate of the International Planned Parenthood Federation (IPPF), has made it clear they will fight against the potential law change.
The only other attempt to amend the law was in 2004. Despite strong public support, that effort was thwarted when MPs voted 45 for and 75 against the proposed amendment.
Voice for Life, who featured Hillary and her daughter in a video in 2013, fully supports the initiative. “We know from the previous effort in 2004, that there is proven public support,” said their National President, Bernard Moran.
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Social media and radio talk shows were buzzing with the story, and many people have been eager to share their own personal experiences. The impact of abortion – both physically and emotionally – on families, women and girls has been very evident.
Devastated parents lament the fact that the current law does not allow them the right to know what is happening with their child.
Mr. Borrows, the MP leading the campaign, has said that “this isn't pro- or anti-abortion. This is about a parent's right to be informed and informed consent and people who are pro-life and pro-choice can sign it equally and I think they will.”
However, Family Life International NZ’s National Director, Dame Colleen Bayer, was very saddened that parental rights, while absolutely important, appeared to be the only concern. She felt uneasy that many of the parents who chose to share their stories appeared to be in favor of their child having an abortion, and generally conveyed little concern for the fate of their grandchild.
“Abortion is a family issue,” she said. “It affects everyone. This child could be the very means of pulling the whole family together. We’d like to find a way of reaching the hearts of those parents to show that we care, and that we can advocate for, and offer a life-giving solution – that is the best for both the young girl, and where necessary, the father of the baby.”
The petition will now be considered by a select committee, which will issue a report.