Right to Life supports right to life of human embryos

Media Release 1 April 2023

Every child has a right to be conceived in its Mother’s womb. Every child has a right not to be frozen and stored. Every child has a right to life and a right not to be experimented on.

Right to Life is opposed to the proposals of the government’s Advisory Committee on Assisted Reproductive Technology. [ACART] and made a substantial written submission in defence of the right to life of the human embryo and opposing the proposals that were listed in a public discussion document seeking support. The discussion document that invited submissions closed on 31st March 2023 sought support to allow:-

Research entailing the destruction of viable human embryos and human embryos created specifically for research

Research on cloned and human-hybrid embryos and other currently unethical reproductive research.

New Zealand researchers are concerned that ethical restrictions imposed are impeding research in New Zealand on human embryos. ACART believes that these restrictions should be changed to allow researchers greater access to human embryos, which they see as a valuable resource for research.

Human life begins at conception and every human being is an unrepeatable miracle of God’s loving creation that deserves our respect and protection.

There are currently more than 15,000 human embryos frozen in liquid nitrogen and in storage in six IVF clinics in New Zealand. They may be stored for up to 10 years and if not used or donated to another family, are destroyed. A third of the embryos are being stored for lesbian couples. Right to Life believes that the storage and imprisonment of these human embryos is a crime against humanity.

Researchers in New Zealand are anxious to get their hands on these precious embryos. At present researchers may use, with ethical approval, embryonic stem cell lines from overseas. They may also use embryos that are considered unviable.

It is currently unlawful to use viable human embryos for research. It is also unlawful to create cloned or human-hybrid embryos.

Human life is a gift from God, children are not a commodity. Right to Life has compassion for those parents who have great difficulty in conceiving a child. IVF is not the solution; it is immoral and violates the natural law for the procreation of mankind. It also violates the human rights of the child. It is not God’s plan that doctors should usurp the role of God as Creator by creating new human life in a Petri dish.

Ken Orr,

Spokesperson,