by NZ CATHOLIC staff
The pro-life, antiabortion group, Right to Life, is going to court to test the lawfulness of an
abortion licence.
Right to Life is seeking a declaratory judgement on the lawfulness of an abortion licence, first issued in 2013, by the Abortion Supervisory Committee to the New Zealand Family Planning
Association (FPA).
Right to Life spokesman Ken Orr said in a statement that the licence was first issued for FPA’s
Tauranga clinic in 2013.
Mr Orr said the registrar of the High Court in Wellington has advised that the hearing will take place in Wellington on Tuesday, June 2, 2015.
Mr Orr explained that about four years ago the association said it intended to seek an abortion
licence for each of its 30 clinics — for medically induced abortions.
“Right to Life believes that the FPA has delayed seeking further abortion licences until the High Court has made its declaratory judgement,” he said.
He said the Contraception Sterilisation and Abortion Act was written in 1977 and provided for
the issuing of abortion licences for surgical abortions only.
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