Whether the next general election takes place on September 19, as scheduled, or later in the year, as NZ First is requesting, Kaikohe pastor Mike Shaw will have his name on the ballot paper.
Mr Shaw said he would stand as an independent candidate, and while he would be seeking support for his views on issues including education, the environment and the economy, his major motivation was the Abortion Law Reform Act 2020.
The Act, he said, denied his unborn grandchildren, and all other unborn New Zealand children, the right not to be deprived of life, the right not to be subjected to torture or cruel treatment by being dismembered in-utero through late-term abortion, without painkillers, the right not to be subjected to medical or scientific experimentation or having their body parts harvested, and the right to refuse to undergo the medical procedure of an abortion, deemed to be a health issue.
He told the Northland Age that he was staunchly pro-life, adding that the calves he had been feeding earlier in the day enjoyed greater legal protection than unborn New Zealand children.
Mr Shaw had already lodged a complaint with the Human Rights Commission against Prime Minister Jacinda Ardern and Justice Minister Andrew Little, who he held particularly accountable, although the Abortion Legislation Bill had passed its third reading in Parliament by 68 voted to 51.