Families Commission Seeking Increased Paid Leave for Dads

The Families Commission wants to extend paid parental leave to include four weeks for dads. Families Commissioner Gregory Fortuin defended the call for extended leave,

“Fathers think they could do an even better job if they could spend more time with their children. The main barrier to fathers sending time with their kids is work, which illustrates the need for flexible workplaces.”

Fortuin gets it right when he talks about the need for flexible workplaces and I couldn't agree more. But how the heck can you have flexible workplaces when you've got a myriad of levels of bureaucracy dictating to the employer and employee exactly what can and can't be done, and how to go about it, in intricate detail.

Maxim takes a shot at the their arch-nemesis,

While Dads spending time with their children is crucial, the policy is unaffordable and promotes the idea that we value something by putting a dollar figure on it is not a healthy attitude to parenting. Worse, they imply that parents should do what they'll get paid for.

Tripping employers up with more red tape will serve only to affect their productivity and ability to employ more staff. If hard-working business-dads are working over-time to keep their company going as a result of having fewer hours put in from their employees due to this paid-parental leave, then their children are going to suffer. Lets get rid of the Families Commission - all they are capable of doing is coming out with tired old socialist solutions to societal and family problems which run far too deep to be remedied with another few briefcases of tax-payers' money.

Teen Repeat Abortions Increasing in England

Abortion numbers in the UK are the highest in Europe with 219,336 terminations taking place in one year according to a new study. Britain also has the highest number of abortions for girls under 20 with 48,150 of the abortions falling into this age group... In February official figures revealed that 41.9 girls per 1,000 aged 15 to 17 became pregnant in 2007, compared with 40.9 in 2006. This comes following £300m ($690m NZ) having been spent to date on the Labour Government’s Teenage Pregnancy Strategy, with Phyllis Bowman of Right to Life commenting, “The Government is not so much running a Teenage Pregnancy Strategy as a Teenage Abortion Strategy; Conceptions are not going down and abortion is going up, exactly the reverse of what was supposed to happen” - The Christian Institute, 13 Nov 09.

Yesterday in England the Daily Mail reports that in 2008, 5,218 teenagers (girls up to the age of 20) had an abortion that was at least their second termination. This means that one in 20 of the teenagers who became pregnant ended it with their second or further abortion. For the first time women having repeat abortions made up more than a third of all those women having their pre-born child killed. Julie Bentley, chief executive of the Family Planning Association claimed, "These figures represent a tiny number of women," while Tony Kerridge from pro-abortion institution Marie Stopes International said the findings are proof that young people need "continuous and consistent sex education," and is in favour of compulsory sex-education for every child from a young age, The Guardian reports.

While advocates of abortion continue to claim that it is not being used as an alternative to contraception, it is abundantly clear from the increase in repeat abortions committed against teenage girls and their pre-born babies that firstly, the sex-education they're receiving in schools is not having it's desired effect, and secondly that abortion is very much promoted and used as an all-too-convenient alternative to other means of contraception. What is the solution? Should sex-education be taught by compulsion from a younger age (currently being taught from 5yrs in England), as Marie Stopes International is advocating for, or should the Government instead get out of family homes and leave the so-called essential sex-education to children's parents.

Pro-Life Training Workshop in New Zealand

Brendan Malone, Family Life International NZ

In New Zealand  more than 1 in 5 pregnancies ends in an abortion, with 18,000 being committed against our silent unborn citizens every year. For too many years the pro-life movement in New Zealand has been well under the radar with the past generation of pro-lifers burnt out, largely not having passed the baton on to the next generation - and where the baton was held out, the next generation didn't grasp it and keep going. Abortion has only been in the news when reporting on developments on an ongoing court-case (which you can read about here), or to report on international news. Over the last year the pro-life movement has been slowly gaining momentum with the establishment of a new nation-wide youth-based pro-life group, Prolife NZ. And then when the Voice for Life branch in a small town called Kapiti had the idea to host a pro-life training workshop, the ball really got rolling. The day before the workshop we held a protest march (the first anti-abortion march in I don't know how long), against the Family Planning Association (Planned Parenthood equivalent). The FPA corporation which is a "sex-education" provider has applied to the Abortion Supervisory Committee for a license to commit chemical (RU486) abortions against mothers and their pre-born children up to 9wks, at its 30 clinics throughout New Zealand. The march was well attended and photos are here.

Matt & Madeline Flannagan

The workshop was held on Sat. 28 November in a school hall with speakers and delegates from all around the country. Brian Whittaker opened the conference with some inspiring videos and then a presentation of Scott Klusendorf's SLED model which many were hearing for the first time and found very helpful. Bob McCoskrie of Family First (Focus on the Family equivalent) spoke to us about the importance of language in this battle and then on lessons we can learn from the other side of the debate on how best to engage the media and the public. Matt & Madeline Flannagan who were both active student campaigners against abortion in the early 2000's spoke to the audience firstly on getting our message right: are we campaigning against abortion because it harms women or because it kills pre-born children? They then covered more apologetics and common objections to the anti-abortion position. Matt did his PhD in Abortion as Arbitrary Feticide and their talk was extremely beneficial. Brendan Malone of Family Life International NZ spoke about the history of abortion law, and the way that our culture is embracing a self-centered humanistic approach to life which results in the unborn being cast aside as annoying and worthless. I was the last speaker, sharing reasons for getting involved in the pro-life movement and a bunch of practical ways people can actively be pro-life on a day to day basis.

a resources table with 12wk fetal models and pamphlets

With over 130 in attendance at the workshop and many of these youth, the organizers were very happy and are looking forward to next year. Of course that's not good enough for the young people, as next year is too far away and already on the email group plans are being set in motion for another conference early next year. It is encouraging to see this, as this has been initiated by a group in a city where previously there was little more than a stir against the injustice of abortion being committed there and throughout the rest of the country. Wherever you are based, I encourage you to meet up with some other pro-lifers, get a committee together, and get a pro-life workshop happening in a town or city near you. This cause isn't something like model-trains or a stamp-collectors club - this musn't be something that we do once a year, switch on the enthusiasm and activism for a couple of days and then switch off for the rest of the year. Even if you only have 20 or 30 turn up, you're going to be doing more good than you know by not only inspiring and convicting the next generation of the importance of their involvment, but also empowering them to know how they can get active in the fight for the right to life of the unborn. That handful of people are going to go back to their home-towns and start firing up the people around them and engaging them in the discussion about this greatest of all social injustices. The workshop in NZ has been a real encouragement for us here - and it is this sort of initiative that is at last going to bring the monster of abortion crashing down.

Planned Parenthood Scared at Abortion Amendment

Senator Ben Nelson

As the Health Care Bill in the US goes through the Senate, Senators Ben Nelson (Democrat) and Orrin Hatchis (Republican) are offering an amendment based largely on the Stupak amendment which was passed on the bill as it went through the House of Congress.

"My Senate amendment would ban any public funds from paying for abortions under a new health care reform bill" - TheHill.com

For regular updates on the progress of the Health Care Bill where it relates in particular to the abortion issue, keep an eye on Jill Stanek's blog.

Planned Parenthood is really, really upset and its president, Cecile Richards today emailed supporters, asking them to email their senators opposing the Nelson amendment.

Dear Supporter,

The Stupak abortion coverage ban that passed the House of Representatives last month is headed for the Senate right now - and we urgently need your help.

Republican Senator Orrin Hatch and Democratic Senator Ben Nelson are planning to introduce an amendment to the Senate health care reform bill that is virtually identical to the Stupak amendment. With both Republican and Democratic support for this damaging amendment, it is entirely possible that the resulting health care reform legislation will eliminate access to private health insurance coverage of abortion for millions of women.

Cecile Richards

This is incorrect as the Senate bill would actually allow women to buy plans that cover abortion even if they receive federal aid, however it would require insurers to segregate public and private funds and use only private money to pay for abortions. Any public option could offer abortion coverage, as long as federal money wasn't used. This would keep government funds from being used for abortions, except in cases of rape, incest or to save a woman's life. - Omaha.com. Cecile uses the emotive term "millions", however it is very vague as no time-frame is given. With over 1.5 million abortions being committed in the US every year, it is impossible that "millions" of women would have access to private health insurance eliminated each year, so what is she talking about? More on this here.

We cannot let that happen. We must stop them, and we need your help. Please, send a message to your senators right now. Once you've sent your message, please don't stop there. As we saw during the vote in the House of Representatives, anti-choice groups will stop at nothing to influence the vote because their goal is to outlaw abortion, no questions asked. We can't afford to let up for even a moment. Everyone who cares about choice, health care, and women must speak up now.

"Anti-choice groups will stop at nothing" - that's right, we have no morals or principles and will sink to the lowest possible level in order to further our cause - at least that's what Cecile is saying. Apparently we want to outlaw abortion with no questions asked, however this is an unfair representation of the pro-life movement as a whole. A majority of pro-lifers accept that there are occasional cases where an abortion is the best solution to a complicated pregnancy.

Every day, uninsured women, men, and families visit Planned Parenthood health centers seeking care they can't get anywhere else, and they desperately need Congress to fix our broken system to ensure health care for all. However, eliminating choice for millions of women is a price we can't afford to pay for passing health reform.

Cecile is correct here. Planned Parenthood can't afford to pay the price of having fewer abortions being done in the US. Planned Parenthood commits approximately 1/5 of all abortions in the US (305,310 in 2007), and at $400 each that's at least $122 million in revenue from abortions alone each year. - InsideCatholic.com. For each abortion that does not take place, Planned Parenthood loses out - and they hate that. Especially with the Harvard Business School case study on Planned Parenthood showing that, they face "tough economic times, a hostile political environment, and limited ability to raise philanthropic dollars in a resource constrained area of the country".

The anti-choice Stupak ban in the House and now the proposed Hatch/Nelson ban in the Senate represent a huge step backward for women. If health care reform passes with this kind of amendment intact, it would be the most serious restriction of access to abortion coverage in a generation. I can't let that happen. I hope you can't, either.

Thank you for your action today to stop this aggressive attack on women's health and freedom. Together, we'll stop the U.S. Senate from caving to pressure from the far right. I'll keep you posted on what's next.

Again, there's that creative combination of words. Pro-lifers are aggressively attacking the very health of the women of America - awful! And, Cecile warns us, we must stop the Senate from caving to pressure from the far right! It's laughable. Removing state-funding for abortion insurance coverage is hardly an aggressive attack on women's health. And if the pro-lifers in the States backing this excellent amendment are the far right, then what do we call the National Front now?

Sincerely,

Cecile Richards, President
Planned Parenthood Federation of America

They're scared, and for good reason - Nelson holds a swing vote, and the bill has to pass through the Senate in some form. This pivotal law change has huge ramifications for the abortion industry in the States and will be very interesting to watch over the next few days.

I lol'd

A tourist is traveling with a guide through one of the thickest jungles in Latin America, when he comes across an ancient Mayan temple. The tourist is entranced by the temple and asks the guide for details. The guide states that archaeologists are carrying out excavations and are still finding great treasures. The tourist then queries how old the temple is.

"This temple is 2,503 years old," replies the guide.

Impressed at this accurate dating, he asks how he knew this precise figure.

"Easy," replies the guide. "The archaeologists said the temple was 2,500 years old, and that was three years ago."

WONAAC Lashes Out at Pro-Life Campaign

The Womens National Abortion Action Campaign (WONAAC) founded in 1973 has been under the radar recently, but has come out today in support of the Family Planning Association's (FPA) application for a licence to commit chemical abortions. WONAAC spokesperson Di Cleary stated in a press release today that,

"The Minister of Health [Tony Ryall] needs to call a halt to anti-abortion fear-mongering by publicly assuring women that medical abortions using the abortion pill are safe...

However this is incorrect. RU486 was invented by Dr Etienne-Emily Baulieu in France in 1980. He stated at the time that using the drug was not a simple procedure and was, "an appalling psychological ordeal for women" as she has to live with her abortion process for a week, or longer. RU486 is considered to be 98% effective in killing the unborn baby, which means that 2% of women may be confronted with an extremely premature baby which will die very shortly after being forced out of the womb. The second drug causes the mother's cervix to soften and dilate and the uterus to contract, expelling the foetus. Usually this occurs within four hours. Many women expel at home, see the foetus and are shocked to see how developed it is.

...Anti-abortion groups are up to their old tricks, using dishonesty and scare tactics to try to restrict New Zealand women’s access to abortion services, Ms. Cleary said.
“The abortion pill (Mifegyne or RU486) has been safely used in New Zealand since 2002 and is available in eight facilities, so it is nothing new,” Ms. Cleary said. “What’s new is Family Planning’s effort to improve access to early medical abortions."

What is new is, The FPA wants to essentially open up 30 new abortion clinics throughout New Zealand. Small towns which could not previously lay claim to the dubious honour of having an abortion clinic will now have easier access to these killing sheds. And because there is no minimum age at which a girl must ask her parents for permission, or even notify them before having an abortion, increasingly young girls will have easier access to abortion throughout New Zealand. This specific law has been put in place to avoid parents declining to permit their child to abort her child, however it is frequently used to cover up the outcome of under-age sex or even rape and incest.

The Pro-Life movement in New Zealand will continue to resist this move by the FPA which will inevitably result in an increase in our already shamefully high rate of abortions. More information is at the Stop Family Planning campaign website.

Barbed Wire

for miles ahead our future lies together,
my eyes are closed, it's only you I see
and side by side through every kind of weather
just winding onwards always we will be

I'm blind to pain, just looking towards the end
and I can see our fates are intertwined
whatever happens, I'll always be your friend.
you know you're always there inside my mind

the sky goes black, I didn't see this coming.
weeds growing high, I think we've lost our way.
I look across, hoping that you'll say something
our eyes meet but you quickly look away.

tightly bound for so long and now we're fraying,
these barbs are sharper, tearing us apart.
I hardly even know what I am saying
the barbs are fear, they're tearing up your heart.

how could those few words have caused this corosion?
dark clouds of bitterness bringing this rust.
I can't continue with this new confusion,
don't know what I believe or who to trust

falling to my knees, you've gone and I am here
merciless rain comes down, my clothes are soaked
looking into the fog, I distantly stare
and now I know I wish I'd never hoped.

I saw a photo focused on rusty barbed-wire about 6 weeks ago, and started writing this poem. Finished it tonight. It's not strictly autobiographical, but nothing ever is. Not every story has a fairytale ending, but that's why they invented sequels isn't it. :)

I lol'd

Scrubone is a man with a well developed dry humour. Here's a recent joke from his blog,

Two hunters are out in the woods when one of them collapses. He doesn’t seem to be breathing and his eyes are glazed. The other man pulls out his cell phone and calls emergency services. He gasps to the operator: “My friend is dead! What can I do?” The operator in a calm, soothing voice replies: “Take it easy. I can help. First, let’s make sure he’s dead.” There is a silence, then a shot is heard.

Back on the phone, the hunter says, “OK, now what?”

Flannagan Deconstructs Backstreet Abortion Myth

"You don't care about all the women who would die from botched-up backstreet-abortions..." Comes the tired old allegation from the sincere advocate of a woman's right to have her baby killed by abortion. In his latest article, Dr. Matthew Flannagan discusses the flaws in the famous backstreet abortion argument for abortion rights. Below is an excerpt,

During fails to distinguish between an action that foreseeably results in a person’s death and an action that causes that person’s death. Suppose that Parliament were to criminalise feticide and this led to a chain of events one of which was the death of a woman due to septic abortion. Somewhere in this chain, between the act of the legislature and the death of the woman, are the free actions of various people who choose to ignore or breach these laws. Parliament does not perform these actions; in fact they are done in defiance of Parliament’s will and hence without Parliament’s consent. Such actions include the choice of a woman to violate the law and procure an abortion and the choice of an abortionist to perform an abortion and to violate hygiene and safety standards. The death and injury that occurs is caused by these actions. It is the abortionist’s decision, acting as an agent of the woman, to perform unsafe surgery that causes the injury to occur. These facts make it evident that Parliament does not cause such deaths. The actions of the woman and abortionist are un-coerced. They are free, voluntary actions and as such not caused by someone else. It follows immediately that they were not caused by the state. If they were not caused by the state, then the effects that follow from them were not caused by the state either. The suggestion that one causes the free (and hence uncaused) reactions of others to decisions one makes is far fetched. (Continue Reading)

Regardless of the validity of the argument, the cold hard statistics do not appear to be in the favour of its proponents. At its highest, 37 women died as a result of an abortion attempt, while NZ's current abortion rate is floating around 18,000 per year.

March For Democracy Hijacked

Children's author reporter David Gadd writes for Fairfax owned Stuff.co.nz, putting forward his version of what took place at the March for Democracy in Auckland earlier today. "Hundreds march over government inaction" reads the headline, immediately followed by the opening statement, "Up to 5,000 people marched up Auckland's Queen Street today..." Technically a gathering of this number can be referred to as hundreds, i.e. fifty hundreds, but that's just preposterous, it is a well-recognised convention that such a figure is referred to as thousands. Meanwhile at the Government radio station website, Radio New Zealand, the wordy headline makes the following fallacious claim, "About 1,000 protesters called on the Government to make referendums binding at a march in central Auckland on Saturday afternoon." The clearly disingenuous attempt to lie about the actual turnout at the march is quickly followed with the claim that the purpose of the march was to call for binding referendums. This false claim was also voiced by the news reader on TV3 as the first line in their opening story on the march. The stated purpose of the march has always been to stand up for democracy - think of that what you will, however it is ridiculous to twist a side issue that only some of the protesters may themselves espouse into the primary purpose of the march. The same pathetic attempt to rewrite events in such a blatantly simple way took place following the Christchurch march against the Anti-Smacking bill in March 2007.

The Herald and TV3 (both non-government funded) to their credit, managed to get at least the headlines of their stories correct.

Compulsory Sex-Ed in UK Schools

LifeSiteNews.com reports, "The British Labour government has announced that parents will have no right to remove their children over the age of 15 from explicit "sex education" programs in schools". The new system will incorporate sex-education throughout the education system - including private schools, for children aged five and up. Until this law change parents were able to withdraw school-children of any age from sex-ed classes. Of course Secretary of State for Children, Schools and Families Ed Balls knows better than mum and dad and was worried that some children were reaching the age of consent without receiving State sex-education!

Balls claims that the public is onside: "Following discussions with parents, young people and faith groups, the Government will bring forward legislation to lower the age to 15. A majority of parents polled on this subject supported a lower age." Good to get that clarity from the Secretary. Discussions were had with some parents, some young people and select "faith groups" - of course we're not going to tell you which ones or how many otherwise we would seem silly. However LifeSiteNews reports on the contrary, that "nearly 80 per cent of respondents believed parents should retain the right to withdraw their children at any age".

The current age at which parents lose the right to pull their children out of sex-ed is 19, which I agree is too high, however while this age could be lowered, 15 is obviously too young. Of course the Family Planning Association in the UK is one of the key movers behind this law change and its not as if they're going to rest on their laurels at this victory, they won't rest on this issue until parents have no right at all to withdraw their own children from certain mandatory sex-ed classes - whether they're at pre-school or primary-school.

This latest law change is just a bit of fooling round with the finer details of the system. The question that needs to be asked is, why is the State running classes (compulsory or not) for children on how to have "safe sex" among other subjects essential for all young people - to give them the information they need to make the right choices about their future... It's time to stop kidding ourselves in the West. The state-education system has evolved into a state social-engineering system which moulds subjects more willing to fit into a totalitarian state. As Telegraph columnist Gerald Warner observed, "totalitarianism means exactly that: total conformity of everybody with the politically correct consensus, with no exceptions tolerated".

hat-tip: Semper Vita

Arrest Over Unlicensed Chemical Abortion

abortionist Josh Woodward

Famous L.A. restaurant owner Josh Woodward allegedly committed an abortion against a woman and their 13wk unborn child on 19 October. Girlfriend at the time, Suzy Buckley (pictured) claims that she is not the woman in question - that the mother of the child is Josh's ex-girlfriend. Suzy has now split up with her abortionist boyfriend. The mother reported to the Los Angeles Police Department that,

Woodward kept putting his hand in a plastic bag and then touching her sexually. The woman says she lost the baby a few hours later... and remembers seeing a white powdery substance on her underwear. - TMZ.com

What Woodward was doing was committing the second half of what is known as a Chemical, or RU486 abortion on this woman by applying the abortion drug misopristol externally and without the woman's knowledge of what was going on. TMZ.com referred to the killing of the foetus as a "brutal murder" which is exactly what it was.

The picture to the right is of a bottle of 120 misoprostol tablets, marketed for the prevention of stomach ulcers in dogs which can be purchased from a veterinary store in the States. However according to the dosage table on this webpage, 4 tablets should be

120 Misoprostol tablets

sufficient to force the miscarriage (premature birth) of a pre-born human baby between 13 - 22wks. It will quite possibly be alive upon birth but will die shortly afterwards as its lungs among other things are not yet developed for life outside the womb. Jill Stanek explains what Misoprostol is and how it works,

Misoprostol (trade name Cytotec) is the drug used to dilate the cervix in induced labor abortions. It is also the 2nd half of the RU-486 abortion cocktail. RU-486 kills the preborn baby, and Misoprostol dilates the cervix to expel the dead baby. Misoprostol is easily available via the online black market.

If abortion is really just clearing the uterus or terminating a pregnancy and that's societally acceptable, then the biologically pre-born human must be the property of the mother to do with what she will. Of course this begs the difficult question that abortion supporters must answer: at what point does the pre-born human take on his/her own rights and cease to be owned by the mother? Interesting to note of course that in New Zealand abortion law for instance specifies that "full regard must be given to the rights of the unborn child". Anyway, under the abortion law in L.A. the only two things they could get Josh on would be performing an abortion without a license or performing an abortion without the woman's consent.

"So they take your life because you're a burden in their hands" - Burden in Your Hands by Underoath

I lol'd

from the London Times

Outside the Bristol Zoo, in England, there is a parking lot for 150 cars and 8 coaches, or buses.

It was manned by a very pleasant attendant with a ticket machine charging cars £1 and coaches £5.

This parking attendant worked there solid for all of 25 years. Then, one day, he just didn't turn up for work.

"Oh well", said Bristol Zoo Management - "we'd better phone up the City Council and get them to send a new parking attendant .

"Err ... no", said the Council, "that parking lot is your responsibility."

"Err ... no", said Bristol Zoo Management, "the attendant was employed by the City Council, wasn't he?"

"Err ... no!" insisted the Council.

Sitting in his villa somewhere on the coast of Spain, is a man who had been taking the parking lot fees, estimated at £400 per day at Bristol Zoo for the last 25 years. Assuming 7 days a week, this amounts to just over £3.6 million!

And no one even knows his name.

Baldock's 2011 Election Bid

Petitioner, Larry Baldock in 2007

The petition asking "Should a smack as part of good parental correction be a criminal offence in New Zealand" was put forward by Focus on the Family employee Sheryl Savill, however it was the initiative of ex-United Future list MP, Larry Baldock. The petition was signed by over 390,000 Kiwis and was supported by people from a wide range of backgrounds and political parties. However as the 08 election got closer, questions began being asked about what the petition was all about. This is covered in more detail in my Christian Voting guide for the 08 election but in summary involved a new political party forming on the back of the petition, followed by an unprecedented breach of privacy of the personal details of the signatories to the petition. Then on 5 September the Kiwi Party announced their second petition, this time calling for referendums on a law change to be binding. This is not only a knee-jerk reaction to the National Government's ignoring the 87.6% No vote response to the smacking referendum, but also an attempt at creating a platform from which to relaunch the Kiwi Party into the '11 election - and this time it's even more blatant. The Kiwi Campaign for Democracy website and the Kiwi Party's own website contain identical articles, not to mention a striking similarity in the name - and this despite Larry's denial at a recent Christchurch meeting that the campaign was being run by the Kiwi Party.

However today the Legislation Advisory Committee which is headed up by former Prime Minister Sir Geoffrey Palmer has come out saying the petition must not be allowed to go ahead as it would contradict the fundamental purpose of the Citizens Initiated Referenda Act 1993, which provided for non-binding referendums - NZ Herald. Petition initiator and Kiwi Party leader Larry Baldock fairly responded, "they're trying to shut down democracy". Simeon Brown of NZ Debate observed that "if they have a right to veto it, we should have the right to veto parliament". The fact of the matter is, there are no legitimate grounds on which to prevent the petition from going ahead. The CIR act was established to ensure that citizens could have their say if they thought they were being ignored - on any issue apart from one which had been the subject of a prior referendum question. The Committee raises many very good points as to why the aim of the petition is at conflict with the way New Zealand's electoral system works. Palmer states that, "It is doubtful that Parliament contemplated that such a referendum could be held under the authority of the Act". However if this were the case, why does the law specify various prohibitions for what petition questions may relate to (Section 4), but neglect to rule out questions relating to the operation of the CIR process itself? He comments further on in the Herald's article,

"The second question that arises is what does binding mean? Does it mean that the content of the referendum is capable of displacing or amending an Act of Parliament directly? As a matter of legal drafting, that cannot be the case. It seems quite impossible for a citizen's initiated referendum to contain professionally drafted amendments that would be legally effective.

Palmer here identifies one of the key problems with the Kiwi Party initiative to amend the CIR Act. A simplified petition question can firstly, not adequately address the plethora of issues surrounding a proposed law change, and secondly, acting on the results of a binding referendum would be extremely difficult as referendum questions never specify the exact changes that should be made to a particular law. As such, referendums are at their best, valuable tools for gaining an accurate gauge on public opinion on a specific issue. According to the guidelines around obtaining a referendum, the Clerk of Parliament has until about 14 Jan to come to a decision on whether or not the petition will ultimately be able to go ahead. The public have had their opportunity to make comment (in the 28 days from 16 Sept to 14 Oct), and we are now in the three month period during which the Clerk may deliberate on the final wording of the question with input from the key parties concerned.

Flawed Reasoning for Opposing the Death Penalty

ACT MP Law & Order spokesman David Garrett writes on his blog about why the death penalty would not work in New Zealand in response to an article by Cactus Kate calling for the death penalty to be introduced with recent posterboys including psychopath Clayton Weatherston who killed his girlfriend by stabbing her 216 times.

As some readers will know, I have in the past (prior to my involvement with ACT) advocated a return of the death penalty for our worst murderers – the Bells, the Rufus Marsh’s  and the Burtons.

After ten years reflection, I have now changed my view somewhat. While most people wouldn’t have much of a problem if Bell or Burton were executed, as a matter of public policy it becomes very problematic.

Having lived in a country where the death penalty remains on the books as a discretionary sentence for murder, I can say with some certainty that one of the results of having a capital sentence even as an option  is what lawyers call “perverse verdicts” by juries unwilling to convict because they know or believe the person concerned will be executed, and they cannot cope with that on their collective conscience.

The question of whether or not the death penalty would be enforceable or workable should come after the discussion on its justification. To rule out bringing in the death penalty because some juries were emotionally compromised is a pragmatic response to the issue. Garrett states that life without parole (LWOP) is probably a worse penalty than being sentenced to death, and he's probably right - but a worse penalty for who? With New Zealand's tax-payer funded prison system, incarceration is merely a no-frills holiday with a varying range of lifestyle options including low-paid work, education and drug-use. That's not to trivialise some of the abuse that goes on within prisons however the real question here is, why should society suffer twice at the hands of the offender. First when the offender commits a crime deemed worthy of LWOP, and then second when they pay for his existence until death.

Answer the Question Auchinvole

Last Wednesday a friend and I stopped in at the National Party tent at the A&P Show to give them a rark up over their actions around the anti-smacking law. We spoke with newcomer, list MP Michael Woodhouse and Chris Auchinvole, MP for the West Coast. Woodhouse has a good grasp on ACC but we spoke primarily with Auchinvole about the smacking issue. Auchinvole stated that the reason National didn't support ACT MP John Boscawen's bill to amend the law to allow correctional smacking with the hand only, was that the bill would bring about an incredible invasion of family privacy. Boscawen's bill is essentially the same as the bill put forward by National MP Chester Borrows in Feb 2007 which did not pass, and Auchinvole claimed that Borrows had said that it was "verbatim". He railed against the bill as he stated that it specified down to the most intricate level, the specifics of the legitimate use of reasonable force by parents upon their children. However if he had taken the trouble to read and understand the bill he would know that while it is slightly more complicated, it is far from unenforceable or a massive breach of family privacy. Instead it specifies a few things that parents must and must not do, while at the same time altering the law to permit the use of reasonable force for the purpose of correction.

However on 20 Feb 07 Chester Borrows stated that “The full National Party caucus supports my amendments". So why would Auchinvole give his support for the amendment in 2007 when in the opposition but now oppose the amendment in 2009 when he is comfortably in government. Auchinvole and the rest of the National party were happy to support this substantial amendment to Sue Bradford's anti-family bill when they were in opposition, as this was an opportunity for them to be seen to be for the people. But in 2009, a year after they formed the new government, here's a government MP claiming that this same bill is a waste of time. The worst thing about it was that Auchinvole absolutely refused to acknowledge that the current law meant that a correctional smack was a criminal offence. Instead he repeated his statement that "parents can give their children a smack", but when I pressed him as to the legality of this action, he neither confirmed nor denied, but simply refused to answer. I asked him several times but each time he avoided the question. Eventually I told him, "I think it's a criminal offence that you ask an MP a question and he refuses to answer you". Obviously this was a play on the law we were discussing which makes a correctional smack a criminal offence. Chris asked me if I was calling him a criminal, however this was simply an attempt at side-stepping my real accusation. Eventually he played the get out of jail free card, telling me that I was being rude and offensive and that our conversation was over. I don't know how these people get their jobs, but when a 66yr-old representative in Government can't give you a straight answer to a fair question, there's something seriously wrong.

Amendment Removing Abortion from US Healthcare Bill Passed

This is huge news. The Stupak/Pitts amendment which ensures that federal funding for abortion will be kept out of the HealthCare Bill has passed, 240-194 in the House of Congress in the United States.

Following the surprise move by Speaker of the House Nancy Pelosi to allow a vote on the amendment, LifeNews.com reported comments on the amendment made by Douglas Johnson, the director of the National Right to Life Committee,

"This will be one of the most important roll call votes that U.S. House members ever casts on a pro-life issue," he said. "Any lawmaker who votes against the Stupak-Pitts Amendment is, in effect, voting in favor of establishing a federal government program that will directly fund abortion on demand, with federal funds."

On Saturday evening, 64 Democrats voted with 176 Republicans to support the amendment to the bill. CEO of Planned Parenthood Cecile Richards is understandably quite upset at this outcome, claiming that the new bill will,

"restrict women’s access to abortion coverage in the private health insurance market, undermining the ability of women to purchase private health plans that cover abortion, even if they pay for most of the premiums with their own money."

However this is not the case as Jill Stanek explained on Saturday before the vote,

This amendment keeps the status quo. It is identical to the current federal employees' insurance plan, which does not cover abortion. Currently, if a pregnant mother who works for the federal government wants to abort, she can do so with her own money.

Under the Stupak/Pitts amendment any low-income pregnant mother who would get her insurance through the government would have to do to the same. Or if she has a private insurance plan that is subsidized by the federal government, that private company could not pay for her abortion.

This is a massive victory for pro-lifers in the States. The Healthcare Reform Bill may have passed through Congress, however it has done so without cover being provided for abortions. David Brody at the Christian Broadcasting Network writes,

"if you just heard a loud thud, well that was pro-choice liberals in the House plopping down in their seats dumbfounded and frustrated as can be. Not only does their healthcare reform bill not contain a "robust" public option but it now contains this new pro-life language. This is a horrible turn of events for House liberals. You can be sure they'll be pressure on Nancy Pelosi and Steny Hoyer to strip this language out in conference (if the bill makes it that far) but for now this vote tonight is something pro-choice liberals will lose some sleep over."

New Zealand already has government-funded abortions for all permanent residents and citizens. To our shame, we are absolutely complacent about this, not even blinking when being told that our tax-money funds this "core health service", abortion. These abortions are on demand and a large number of them are very likely being carried out in breach of the Contraception, Sterilisation and Abortion Act of 1977 which states that abortion is illegal except in a very few circumstances. Pro-lifers in the US have a real fight on their hands to keep their country from slipping down the path of tax-payer funded child-killing as we have in New Zealand.

I lol'd

Haven't had much humour on the blog lately, but here's some medical humour inspired by Scrubone.

Jerry is recovering from day surgery when a nurse asks him how he is feeling.
“I’m ok but I didn’t like the four-letter-word the doctor used in surgery,” he answered.
“What did he say,” asked the nurse.
“oops!”

And, indicators that it might be time for you to look for a new doctor...
- He keeps accidentally referring to himself as "the defendant."
- He introduces you to his anesthesiologist, "Doctor Jim Beam."

A man phones a mental hospital and asks the receptionist if there is anybody in Room 27.
She goes and checks, and comes back to the phone, telling him that the room is empty.
"Good," says the man. "That means I must have really escaped."

An older gentleman was on the operating table awaiting surgery and he insisted that his son, a renowned surgeon, perform the operation. As he was about to get the anesthesia, he asked to speak to his son.
'Yes Dad, what is it? '
'Don't be nervous, son; do your best and just remember, if it doesn't go well, if something happens to me, your mother is going to come and live with you and your wife.'

Christchurch Protest Against Family Planning Abortion Bid

Peter Coleman (Right to Life President) and me

Today I took part in my first anti-abortion protest march. Right to Life hosted a march in opposition to the Family Planning Association's (FPA) application to the Abortion Supervisory Committee for a licence to commit abortions on foetuses up to 9 weeks at their Hamilton centre. The protest went well as we walked from Cathedral Square to the Family Planning Centre. The FPA has stated that they wish to convert their 30 branches throughout New Zealand into abortion clinics, and so their recent application signals the catalyst for a slew of brand new abortion clinics up and down our country.

What's wrong with the FPA getting the license? Women and girls of any age, with or without their parent's knowledge or consent would be able to go into an FPA abortion clinic and receive counselling on their crisis pregnancy. Since the FPA is

foetus, 7wks from conception

pro-abortion and has a vested interest in women choosing abortion as they will gain financially, there will be a strong emphasis on the benefits of going ahead with an abortion. A certifying consultant will likely be present at the clinic, and able to sign off the form. Two certifying consultants are requried to approve abortions, and so a second consultant may be called by phone and asked "to approve an abortion for Jane". Of course this won't be an issue. In 2007 one certifying consultant approved 1,000 abortions and declined none. The task of certifying consultants to determine if a woman's situation justifies her having an abortion is nothing more than a farce, with 98.7% of abortions being granted on the mental health grounds of the mother in 2007. This is one thing that pro-abortion and pro-life advocates are quick to agree upon. Once the certifying consultants are out of the way, the woman can be given the first dose of the two-part deadly, and expensive drug. The drugs required for an RU486 abortion cost approximately $600. The first dose will starve the baby of essential nutrients while the second dose initiates contractions, resulting in the birth of the baby - usually dead, but occasionally alive, dying minutes afterwards. The Most Tranquil blog has a good post with the low down on RU486. It would also mean that towns currently without an abortion clinic - but that have a local Family Planning branch will have much easier access to abortions.

More photos from the march are at the Stop Family Planning website.

NZ Abortion Study Rattles ALRANZ

Research just published (4 Nov 09) by Otago University appears to have left the pro-abortion advocates in New Zealand shaken. President of the Abortion Law Reform Association of New Zealand (ALRANZ), Margaret Sparrow attempts to discredit the findings by questioning the integrity of the report itself, of its researchers and of the media's reporting on it. Professor David Fergusson, of the department of Psychological Medicine, and his team studied data from women who had been interviewed six times between the ages of 15 and 30, each time being asked whether they had been pregnant and, if so, what the outcome of that pregnancy had been. They found that, "Women reporting adverse reactions were up to 80 per cent more likely than women not exposed to abortion to have mental health problems" - NZ Herald.

“Pro-abortion lobbyists in New Zealand like to throw the word ‘choice’ around, but how can we honestly claim that women choosing abortion are making a free and informed decision when they haven’t been properly advised about the risks of having an abortion, and the alternatives available to them” said Brendan Malone of Family Life International in their press release.

So having an abortion will increase your risk of suffering from a mental health disorder will increase by up to 80% if you agree for your baby to be killed by an abortionist. It would seem self-evident that any mother who agrees to having their own flesh and blood, their own little child killed is either careless, sadistic, or has not been told that this is in fact what is taking place. If the pre-born child is refered to as "the pregnancy", or "the products of conception" by her doctor and councillers then the mother is unlikely to be fully aware of the state of the child within her. If the mother was instead told that her "problem" was a small human-being, a life distinct from hers yet dependent upon her for its very life (from conception until about the age of five), perhaps she would then be able to see the situation for what it was. Another factor worthy of consideration when thinking about getting an abortion, is the effect that it may have on the mother's own health. Surprise surprise, workers within the government-funded abortion industry in New Zealand value their jobs and subsequently spend precious little time providing women with information on the very real plethora of risks - both physical and psychological, associated with having an abortion. Increased risk of contracting breast cancer, damage to mental health, future premature births or miscarriages, or nightmares about the awful fate of their tiny, helpless, unborn child.