New polling has revealed that the popularity of New Zealand’s Prime Minister has plummeted at the same time as the Government she leads has brought forward a bill which seeks to introduce one of the most extreme abortion policies in the world.
Jacinda Ardern’s prime ministerial polling dropped two times in the last two Colmar Brunton/One News Surveys, from 51% in April – shortly after New Zealand’s terrorist attack – to 41% last month.
Some commentators have suggested her polling has dropped as much as 16% according to her own party’s internal polling.
When asked whether she was concerned about this drop in her popularity, Arden said:
“When it comes to the personal ratings what I equally accept is that when you are in Government and taking on big challenges and difficult conversations and hard debates there are going to be people who disagree with you,” Ardern said.
“We are not going to make progress on some of these big difficult issues unless we are willing to confront hard conversations.
“If you simply govern just to maintain popularity it probably means you are not taking some of those big issues on.”
One of those ‘big difficult issues’ that Arden has taken a clear position on is New Zealand’s extreme abortion legislation currently passing through the New Zealand Parliament.
The Abortion Legislation Bill, which passed its first reading earlier this month, will make abortion legal up until birth with the approval of a single nurse or doctor, which could be the abortion doctor or nurse performing the abortion, and has the Prime Minster of New Zealand’s full support.
New Zealand Justice Minister, Andrew Little, admitting abortion with the consent of a single health professional will be available up to birth.
Arden’s drop in popularity is consistent with other countries where leaders have supported extreme abortion legislation. Thousands of pro-lifers protested outside of New South Wales Parliament House, and almost 100,000 people signed a petition asking the Legislative Council in New South Wales to reject the Reproductive Health Care Reform Bill 2019.
After the surprise victory of the Liberal Party in Australia in June, the Labor Party’s radical abortion pledges were identified as a possible reason the party did not win the election. In the run up to the election, the party had pledged state funding for late-term abortions, which, in some states, would have meant funding abortions up to birth.
Spokesperson For Right To Life UK Catherine Robinson said:
“It is no surprise Jacinda Arden is losing popularity over this issue. Extreme abortion legislation is not a vote winning position. Only abortion ideologues want abortion up until birth. Everyone else can recognise the extreme barbarity of laws which permit abortion at 9 months gestation.”
