Source: Family First
MEDIA RELEASE – 6 August 2025
Provisional data from the Ministry of Health reveals that the number of abortions increased by 5% in 2024, and have increased by 30% since abortion was decriminalised in 2020.
Abortions have increased from 16,277 abortion procedures in 2023 to 17,123 last year, according to the provisional figures received by Right To Life in an Official Information Act request.
This means that on average, 329 children are killed every week in the womb in New Zealand, or 47 per day.
Previous official data revealed that there has also been a 67% increase in late-term abortions (20 weeks onwards) between 2021 and 2023.
Two out of three abortions (66%) are medical abortions where the drugs can be obtained over the counter at pharmacies or even via home delivery where there may be very little supervision or after-care.
Medical abortions not only end unborn lives but also puts women at risk.
In May, Family First called on the Ministry of Health, Health New Zealand and Medsafe to respond to significant new research coming out of the United States that shows that almost one in nine women have serious adverse events after taking the abortion pill, mifepristone.
A recent study in the British Medical Journal reported that women are frequently misled about the pain they will experience when taking the abortion pill.
Taking abortion out of the criminal code and inserting it into health legislation has given the unborn baby the same status as an appendix, gall bladder or tonsils – simply ’tissue’ removed as part of a ‘health procedure’.
But anyone who has viewed the ultrasound of an unborn child will know that this is a gross abuse of human rights. It also creates inconsistency with other legislation and public health messaging which clearly recognises the rights of the unborn child.
Abortion is both a health issue and a legal issue – for both the mother and the unborn child.
READ MORE about New Zealand’s Abortion Law
