MEDIA RELEASE

26 June 2000

Gael Donoghue
Health Spokesperson

ABORTIONISTS AND CERTIFYING CONSULTANTS STRIKE AGAIN – THIS TIME – RU-486

Gael Donoghue, Christian Heritage Party Health spokesperson, said the matter is distressing, immoral and sad, but not that surprising, given the track record of the people involved. Her comments were made on the learning that ‘the Chief High Priestess of abortion in New Zealand’, Dr Margaret Sparrow, with a group of so-called Women’s Health Advocates including Certifying Consultants (Medical Doctors/Clinicians) had applied to Medsafe, within the Ministry of Health, to introduce the abortion pill RU-486 to New Zealand.

Dr Sparrow is pushing the line that this is another abortion ‘option’. “Haven’t we enough already?” asks Mrs Donoghue. She went on, “The RU-486 pill is very controversial in the United States – apart from the moral argument it has particularly nasty side effects, and has to be administered in an abortion hospital facility while another drug is needed to complete the abortion a couple of days later. The pill would be offered to women in their first seven to nine weeks of pregnancy.

“With the abortion figures in this country now reaching 15,500 in 1999, does this group of anti-life people want to increase the holocaust further?” Mrs Donoghue asked.

“Only two weeks ago Pharmac (taxpayer funded as are all the abortions in this country – medical and surgical) announced another $15,500 for the new ‘morning after pill’,” she said. “If this is so efficient why is it we need another pill seven to nine weeks down the track?

“The original drug company manufacturing this death pill dropped the product for fear of boycott of their other products. Medsafe is keeping silent about the application and Sparrow herself said to the media, ‘We’re not really wanting publicity’, and declined to name the people in the group. What does that all add up to? Perhaps collectively at last these people realise they are pushing the death train just a bit too far for the people of ‘Godsown’? – maybe, just maybe even the liberals might think this is going just TOO far?” said Mrs Donoghue.

The Christian Heritage Party calls on the Minister of Health, Annette King, (who we understand will make the decision as to whether this abortion pill will be introduced to New Zealand Abortion Clinics) to decline the application, and consider the LIFE of the unborn child, the physical and mental health of the mother, and recognise the reality of the sanctity of human life.

Contact: Mrs Gael Donoghue on (06) 347 6000 or (025) 514 980
Party Leader Graham Capill (021) 661 766

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