Healthy baby reportedly left to die in New Zealand hospital after failed late-term abortion

A healthy baby was reportedly born alive after an unsuccessful late-term abortion, and was left to die in a New Zealand hospital. The baby was left gasping for two hours whilst healthcare workers refused to intervene, before dying.

According to Voice for Life, a healthcare student going by the pseudonym “Nicola” was reportedly traumatised by witnessing the ordeal. Nicola had said that the mother was over 21 weeks pregnant when she came in for the abortion.

“Normally a late-term abortion is performed on babies that have medical issues, but this baby was completely healthy – so instead of using an infanticide injection to stop the heart from beating before expelling the baby from the womb, the mother was just induced”.

Due to the method of delivery, Nicola explains that it is common for the baby to be born alive and that “in these situations, the baby is just left to die”. She said that other healthcare workers who witnessed the abortion justified it by saying that the mother had “financial and housing issues”, despite recognising that the death of the baby was “sad”.

“We wouldn’t do that to an animal. I was horrified” Nicola said. “We didn’t empower this woman by leaving her child to suffer and die like that. When she left the hospital, she was still in need of support and help for her situation. All we did was end the life of her baby in a drawn-out and cruel way. It’s actually vile and disgusting that any human would be treated that way.”

According to Right to Life UK, the Abortion Legislation Bill was introduced and passed in New Zealand in 2020 by Primer Minister Jacinda Ardern's government. In light of this Bill, MP Simon O'Connor proposed the Care of child born after abortion amendment, which would require medical attention for a baby born alive after an unsuccessful abortion. The amendment was rejected by the government, including by Prime Minister Ardern.

Speaking on this tragic case to Voice for Life, Simon O’Connor MP said: “We were told that my amendment was not necessary, yet here we are in a situation with a baby born alive, left to die alone – and it’s just awful.”