WHISTLE - Letter No 11

23 October, 2008

WHISTLE

·         A branch of HealNZ 24/7 prayer, with a specific focus on prayer regarding abortion in NZ.

·         Announcing "FULL TIME" to abortion in NZ.

·         Arranged by Sue Rowe and The Whistle Team, coordinated from Hamilton.

·         "He lifts up a banner for the distant nations, He whistles for those at the ends of the earth. Here they come swiftly and speedily!"  (Is 5:26)

This Whistle letter has several aspects that all tie in together and are pertinent to our elections. They also build on today's prayer in the 40 days Prayer Booklet. I urge you to read this and pray, and keep on praying.   It would be good to use the many points as a basis for prayer in your prayer groups.

Ps 96:4 NIV "For great is the Lord and most worthy of praise, He is to be feared above all gods."

VICTORIA AUSTRALIA:

Recently someone forwarded an email copy of a Pastoral Letter written 19 Sept, '08 by Catholic Archbishop Denis Hart,  Melbourne, Victoria, Australia.

He and his brother bishops had issued a Pastoral Statement on the proposed "decriminalisation of abortion". Several key points outlining how the Bill is flawed and the consequences of the Bill are in the letter. In late August '08 the Abortion Law Reform Bill was introduced into the Legislative Assembly in Victoria and passed on the 11 Sept without amendment despite attempts by many to have the Bill defeated or its effects minimised.  This Bill could become law as early as 15 Oct after being introduced into the Legislative Council.

The Archbishop said:  "Make no mistake, the Bill goes beyond codifying current clinical practice and will set an unfortunate precedent which other (Australian) states may follow......Parliamentarians are being afforded the opportunity to exercise their consciences to remove the right of health professionals to exercise theirs."

(The full letter, together with a lovely picture, is available on our website www.whistlenz.org)

An email arrived by a circuitous route:  A prayer booklet was emailed by a Hamilton pastor to a Hamilton family who had shifted to Holland.  This family received an email from friends in Victoria telling them about the Bill before parliament.  The following bit was then emailed back to the Hamilton pastor and then to me!

The Victorian friend said:  The bill legalises abortion to 24 weeks on demand and to full term with the approval of two doctors.  If a doctor doesn't approve, he must under the law, refer the woman to a doctor he knows will not share his objection.  It also legalises partial birth abortion with no pain relief for the baby at all.  A couple of Sundays ago I joined 6,000 on the steps of parliament to protest.

Another email forwarded, written by a pastor from Victoria, said he warned Christians before their last elections that if the Labour Govt in Victoria was voted in they would approved IVF for same sex couples, attempt to take  Christianity out of the school curriculum, register homosexual relationships and decriminalize abortion so it is possible for a woman to get an abortion right up to the birth for any reason.

      Ps 119:126 NIV  "It is time for you to act O Lord; your law is being broken."  
   

RIGHT TO LIFE COMMENT:

ALRANZ (The Abortion Law Reform Assoc of NZ) is hoping to capitalise on the decision made by the Victorian Govt in Australia to decriminalise abortion in that state and is calling for the same in NZ.

This organisation was founded in 1970 according to the National President Dr Margaret Sparrow.  It has a membership of about 200.  It is false for them to claim to represent the women of NZ.  They certainly don't represent the best interests of unborn children whose destruction they support.  Why then do the media constantly seek comment from ALRANZ on important issues concerning the welfare of women distressed with an unplanned pregnancy and the care of unborn children?

ALRANZ is now calling for the decriminalisation of abortion in NZ.  They claim that the killing of an unborn child at any time up to birth is not a crime and that the question of whether or not the unborn child is allowed to live is a health matter and one for a woman to decide.  They seek to remove the protection of the State for the human rights of the unborn child on the anti life pretext that it is not a crime to kill an unborn child. They do not acknowledge that the unborn child is endowed with human rights and a right to life.

Ps 33:10-11 NIV  "The Lord foils the plans of the nations; He thwarts the purposes of the peoples, But the plans of the Lord stand firm forever, the purposes of His heart through all generations."

The ‘Born Alive’ Rule

(This has been compiled from emails from three men of God, after one of them raised his concern about the need to pray “right at the point where our faith needs to be focused”.)

The recent Wellington High Court case Right To Life v The Abortion Supervisory Committee, 9 June, 2008, at which Justice Miller was the judge can be read on www.abortionlaw.co.nz.  See especially from paragraph 67 onward, the part of real concern.

Justice Miller stated in his judgment that the abortion laws rested on the born alive rule.

The ‘born alive’ rule implies that an unborn child is a non-person one minute before birth, but becomes a legal person one minute after birth.

Comment 1: “This rule is a grave injustice.  It is a legal issue.”

The Royal Commission on Contraception, Sterilisation and Abortion in its report to Parliament stated:

“….if the child has no status other issues resolve themselves; certainly no question concerning the rights of the pregnant woman will arise in that if the unborn child has no rights, no obstacle will be in the path of the mother’s rights, other than consideration of her health.”

Comment 2: “The 'born alive' common law rule will never be easily jettisoned.  The pro-life community must focus on the scientific/medical evidence relating to life in the womb.  This is the place to begin and the place of real momentum.  Emphasise this and the 'born alive' rule looks more and more arbitrary and dated.”

Comment 3:: “If you read the judgment the lawyers focused on exactly that.  They did everything they could to show that medically and scientifically the born alive rule is outdated and wrong.”

Comment 4: “I am not sure that the verdict in the High Court was a great victory for us.  There is a danger that on appeal the 1977 Act will be mentioned as too restrictive on a woman’s right to choose an abortion.  The long term outcome might well be the decision that the current committee machinery impacts upon the rights of women.”

Comment 5:  “From conception God endows the human embryo with inalienable human rights, the foundation right being the right to life.  From conception the human embryo should be accorded the respect due to the human person.

That status is critical to the issue of abortion.  We cannot effectively protect the child until we recognise the child in law as a human being.”

Comment 6:  “Right To Life has a Parliamentary Bill drafted that seeks legal recognition of the human embryo as a human being, endowed with human rights.  We have been unsuccessful in locating a member (MP) who would be prepared to sponsor the Bill.”

Day Gardner, president of the national Black pro-Life Union, USA, said July ‘08”

“The biggest struggle for civil rights today is for the civil rights of the unborn child.”

PLEASE PRAY:

v      That Christians in NZ will be firm in their belief that human life begins at conception, and that the unborn has rights and status. Let’s pray from that certainty, with conviction.

v      That real momentum would begin to gather concerning the scientific/medical evidence relating to life in the womb; that God would breathe upon this evidence so that when it is presented in court and/or in parliament, the ‘born alive’ rule would look more and more arbitrary and dated.

v      For a sponsor for the Right To Life Bill.

Ps 125:3a  NIV  "The sceptre of the wicked will not remain over the land allotted to the righteous."

GORDON COPELAND:

Gordon Copeland, independent MP and co-founder of the Kiwi Party, has a Member's Bill waiting to be drawn from the ballot box.

He states that "the purpose of this Bill is to require every woman who requests an abortion to receive

counselling.  The Bill also removes counselling services from institutions where abortions are performed, but retains the role of the Abortion Supervisory Committee in approving counselling services....  The focus of this Bill is on reducing the demand for abortion by making practical and sensible changes to the decision-making and counselling processes....and that counselling will be a compulsory part of the process.  This provides a genuine and objective mechanism to satisfy the 'informed consent' criterion which has been developed, mainly through the 'Cartwright Inquiry', since the enactment of the 1977 legislation.  It is educational in nature so that the decisions taken by the woman are fully informed at all stages."

Recently I received an email from Gordon Copeland.  I am not blowing the whistle for Kiwi Party, but including this so you are informed and can consider this party when it comes to the elections.

He says:  Traditionally abortion is not featured in the manifesto of NZ political parties because it is a

conscience vote.  Abortion has become a 'no go' area even for pro-life MPs.

However, the Kiwi Party, which is contesting this year's elections, has a commitment to 'change the law and practice so that the number of abortions is greatly reduced and requires parental consent for under age abortion'.

If we cross the 5% threshold (approx 110,000 party votes) we will have 6 MPs and will enter into supply and confidence negotiations with National in the formation of a new government.  We will not be part of a Labour-led government. If all pro-life New Zealanders give their party vote to the Kiwi Party we can see this issue addressed.

John Paul Jackson:  "If we do not engage in the present battle, we will not be strong enough to face future conflicts where Satan will seek to abort our anointing."

I urge you to pick up the sword of the Spirit and pray, and keep praying the points above, and to worship the Lord in the splendour of His holiness.  Let's keep exalting Him over our nation and all facets of this issue of abortion.

Blessings,

Sue

PS Only a few towns to adopt now: Ohakune, Hawera, New Plymouth, Bulls, Kaiapoi, Kaikoura, Gore.   

Sue Rowe, Email:  roy.sue.rowe@clear.net.nz 

Supported by: Brian and Trisha Caughley of Intercessors For NZ, and John Fulford of Vision Network (Prayer).