Representative Simon O’Connor had introduced an amendment requiring the treatment of children born alive after a failed abortion. The amendment was rejected by more than two-thirds of New Zealand MPs, with Arden at the helm.
(IFN) Cristina Tamburini has analyzed for International Family News the first year of one of the most extreme abortion laws in the world, the law promoted by New Zealand Prime Minister Jacinta Arden. As provided by the new law, now in New Zealand abortions can be «on demand» up to the twentieth week of gestation, while for the following weeks – and until the moment of birth – a simple statement from doctors certifying that it is sufficient «Abortion is appropriate in the circumstances», taking into account the physical and mental conditions of the mother herself, to end the life of the fetus in order to promote the «well-being» of the mother.
The potentially dramatic consequences of such legislation had already been revealed, beginning with Dr. Catherine Hallagan’s statement that «the scope of social assistance […] is so broad that virtually any request could be acceptable.» In an attempt to stem this drift, Congressman Simon O’Connor had tabled an amendment requiring the treatment of live-born children after a failed abortion. The amendment was rejected by more than two-thirds of New Zealand MPs, led by President Arden.
A 43% increase in late-term abortions
First, in the last 12 months in New Zealand there has been a 43% increase in ‘late’ abortions, that is, those performed after the 20th week of pregnancy. We would like to remind anyone who has not heard that a 20-week fetus measures about 15 centimeters and weighs almost 300 grams. A pregnant woman in this phase of gestation can already feel the movements of the fetus, while the baby is already developing the sense of smell, hearing, sight and touch. Meanwhile, «the nervous system is forming those complex junctions that are necessary for memory and thinking.
» All the organs and structures of the child’s body are reaching the end of their formation, the little one «enters a period of simple growth.» In addition, quite significant information, at twenty weeks of gestation the pain pathways are already formed. In New Zealand, in 2020, at least 120 babies were aborted beyond 20 weeks; one of them was a so-called «abortion» performed on a baby who was more than 35 weeks pregnant. Recall that from week 37 on, delivery is considered «full term», and the author has direct experience in this, since she gave birth to a perfectly healthy baby three weeks before the expected date. Infanticide in fact While Richard Scott William, the «most premature baby in the world» … », born at 21 weeks and two days of gestation, weighing 340 grams, celebrated his first birthday on June 5, other children like him found themselves outside the womb, not because of an unfortunate accident of nature, but because of a precise medically pursued intention. And at least one, like Richard, was born alive, despite his advanced prematurity. While the doctors at the Minneapolis hospital that welcomed Richard’s premature birth tried everything, and with success, to rescue the little creature, succeeding after six months of hard fighting that he returned home in the arms of his mother and father, other doctors acted differently.
In fact, there is no obligation in New Zealand to rescue prematurely aborted fetuses, so a baby born alive after a failed late-term abortion was left to agonize without medical attention for two hours before dying. The events were reported by a medical student who, despite herself, had to witness the event. ‘Normally a late abortion is performed on babies who have health problems, but this baby was completely healthy, so instead of using an infanticidal injection to stop the heartbeat before the baby is expelled from the uterus, the baby was simply induced. mother », explains Nicola – not her real name.
We would never do that to animals. It was horrible ”, the story continues, with a relief that is dramatically real, if we think that in Germany it is even forbidden to kill chicken embryos after 6 days of incubation, given the pain that these embryos seem to suffer. Human beings, on the other hand, are allowed to die by suffocation, after being torn from their mother’s womb, a death defined as «sad» by the other operators involved, but justified by the «economic and housing problems» of the company. mother, a woman who – thanks to the law strongly desired by the prime minister – was left «free» to make her son suffer and die in the midst of so much torment. What her country has done for her, let us remember, in the economic and housing difficulties, has not been to support her difficulties, help her in her limitations or satisfy her weaknesses, but to quote Nicola again «to end the life of her son in a devastating and cruel way. It is really vile and disgusting for any human being to be treated that way. It is not clear to us who this woman should be grateful to, who, in any case, «continued to need support and help with her situation.» With an additional burden: the knowledge that the fruit of her womb was left defenseless and suffering only until its last breath.
No surprises: everything was predictable
As Right to Life UK spokesperson Catherine Robinson has noted, ‘This case is truly tragic, but totally predictable. New Zealand’s new abortion law is outrageous and the MPs who have voted against the amendment requiring medical treatment for babies born alive after a failed abortion – like Jacinda Arden – are disgraceful and should be ashamed. ‘ Instead, the amendment, deemed «unnecessary,» was based on the knowledge that in other jurisdictions babies were allowed to die after failed abortions when medical care was not legally necessary in such cases.
