Why does government promote a culture of death?

Media Release 1 February 2026

Right to Life believes that those who govern do so with the permission of the governed!

When is the government going to ask us for our permission to use our taxes to fund a culture of death Inflicted on our community by IPPF and the FPA, (Family Planning Association), now known as Sexual Wellbeing.

Sexual Wellbeing is a registered charitable trust.

Murdering the unborn is not a charity.

Right to Life believes that it is an absurd obscenity that a registered charitable trust should be registered to facilitate the murder of innocent and defenceless unborn children and the grievous wounding of their mothers.

Right to Life requests the government to follow the example of the United States government and cease funding the International Planned Parenthood Federation [IPPF], which promotes a culture of death with contraception, sterilisation and abortion.

The New Zealand government gave the IPPF $7 million in 2025. We commenced these generous grants in 1972 – over 50 years ago!

The Trump administration in the United States issued an unprecedented new massive restriction on U.S. foreign assistance that will end all direct and indirect funding of abortion, diversity, equity, and inclusion (DEI), and gender ideology overseas.

Vice President J.D. Vance said: “It is not our job to promote radical gender ideology,” Vance said, “It’s our job to promote families and human flourishing.”

He added that the Trump administration “believe[s] every country in the world has the duty to protect life.”

Right to Life agrees and believes that the New Zealand government has a duty to protect life and asks why it is not doing so?

Trump reinstated the Mexico City Policy via a Memorandum on 24 January, 2025, revoking the Biden-era rescissions, and directing its expansion to broader global health assistance. The reinstated policy, also known as Protecting Life in Global Health Assistance, prohibits U.S. government global health funding from supporting foreign NGOs which perform or promote abortion.

This reinstatement has defunded the International Planned Parenthood Federation (IPPF) and other major abortion providers overseas, resulting in an estimated US$100 million loss to the IPPF budget and hundreds of millions of dollars less funding for other pro-abortion groups.

The Family Planning Association, a loyal affiliate of the IPPF, is now trading under the name Sexual Wellbeing. It shares the same anti-life philosophy as the IPPF.

Right to Life believes that we should follow the commendable example of the United States administration, which has defunded the American Planned Parenthood Association.

We should now defund Sexual Wellbeing here in NZ, which is damaging our community.

Sexual Wellbeing is the major abortion provider in New Zealand together with Magna Healthcare. They have a lucrative contract with the Ministry of Health to kill unwanted unborn children in the Decide national telehealth abortion service. In 2024 there were 5,421 unborn babies killed in the Decide abortion programme.

Sexual Wellbeing received approximately $18 million from the New Zealand government, in grants and contracts in 2025, in addition to the more than $3 million it is believed to have received from the babies killed in the Decide abortion service.

Right to Life invites the community to support our campaign to defund the IPPF and Sexual Wellbeing to protect our nation.

Ken Orr,

Spokesperson,

Right to Life New Zealand Inc.