Are our media ‘marketing’ abortion?

It was disappointing to buy the Herald on Sunday and be confronted with “My womb my choice” as the headline story decorating the front page. Media ‘personality’ Brodie Kane shares her own abortion story, hoping to “help other women and reduce the stigma”. The article is written by journalist Julia Gabel (a two year ‘veteran’ at the Herald).

You don’t even need delving into the full article to see the absolute bias being presented. On the front cover, the opening paragraphs state “the Roe v Wade decision … rolled back women’s rights 50 years”, and “the ruling has put the spotlight back on Kiwi politicians who are facing scrutiny for their views on abortion”. Of course, the only Kiwi politicians facing any scrutiny are the few pro-life MPs who oppose abortion, especially those opposition MPs who aren’t in the Labour Government (yes, even some Labour MPs voted against abortion reform). But why should anyone in New Zealand face ‘scrutiny’ for pro-life views? The majority of kiwis do not support late-term abortions, as was enacted in 2020.

It’s a completely one-sided article by Gabel, that totally favours a pro-abortion “my body my choice” position. There is zero balance. We’re not trying to undermine Kane’s personal story, that’s her personal experience, but rather question the extreme bias of our media in mostly reporting pro-abortion news and opinions. Herald on Sunday might defend this one-sidedness by saying its simply the personal story of Brodie Kane. But that doesn’t wash, as Gabel goes far beyond Kane’s story and delves into the SCOTUS decision, its impact on New Zealand, and of course the ‘scrutiny’ of National MP Simon O’Connor. Gabel needs to understand that the Abortion Legislation Act was a conscience vote in our Parliament, and that freedom of beliefs is still protected under our Bill of Rights. Simon O’Connor should not have to face any scrutiny, especially from relatively inexperienced journalists,  for merely posting “today is a good day” in reference to the Roe v Wade ruling.

Gabel goes on to write about Brodie Kane’s pregnancy experience:

She would get her period at the same time as her flatmates, but when she missed it twice, her mind began racing. “I was like, ‘shit, oh no, no’,” she said. “I just remember … just sobbing for quite some time. Then I rang my best mate who I lived with and she came straight home.”

Kane said her message for anyone else going through abortion was that it was “your right and what you’re doing is okay”.

But the newspaper isn’t satisfied with just one solitary “My womb my choice” feature article. Herald on Sunday inserts other biased pro-abortion articles into the same publication. In the article titled “Women’s rights take a giant step backwards”, journalist Vera Alves proclaims “It has not been a good week for people with uteruses”. Alves goes on to declare “Pregnant people do not need to justify their decision”. 

Oh dear, “people with uteruses, and pregnant people”. This shouldn’t surprise us, as Alves describes herself as “furiously feminist”. But we don’t really understand how the concept of “people with uteruses, and pregnant people” can be in-sync with someone who is furiously feminist. After all, the term feminist is derived from French féministe, and from Latin femina ‘woman’. Just saying.

We suggest that kiwis with their own pro-life stories can try submitting them to Herald on Sunday, or other mainstream media outlets. Will pro-life stories ever get published, let alone make front page news? Surely we need a balance?

Presenting “My womb my choice” as a front page story shouldn’t really come as a surprise. Ever since Roe v Wade was overturned in the US Supreme Court, thus giving back abortion legislation powers to each individual state, our NZ media have propelled themselves into overdrive unashamedly pushing a pro-abortion narrative. It’s all one-way traffic. In fact the recent Roe v Wade ruling has plainly exposed utmost bias in this country’s media, with nearly all news articles and 100% of opinion pieces favouring abortion. Many would consider the media to be actively promoting abortion with such extreme bias.

Below is a snap shot of NZ news stories gathered since the Roe v Wade ruling late last month. There are some absolute ‘gems’: “How an abortion saved my life”, “Fury in Wellington”, “Angry outpour”, “intense media reaction” and so on. The media even go as far as spreading blatantly fake news with the claim that “thousands eye up move to New Zealand after Supreme Court decision on abortion”. Yeah nah.

But you get the drift?

When will the NZ media start presenting a balanced perspective, especially regarding issues such as abortion, drug legalisation, gender, and faith?

*This post was written by Family First staff writers.