Wellington, New Zealand (LifeNews.com) -- Abortions in New Zealand have declined more than three percent when comparing the latest figures from 2006 with those from 2003. However, officials there are concerned about the high number of teen abortions, especially on Asian teenagers who have relocated to the island nation.

Statistics New Zealand shows 17,930 abortions in 2006, down from a total of 18,510 in 2003 - a decline of about 3.2 percent.

However, high numbers of teenagers and Asians are seeking abortions, with some as young as 14-years-old.

"Some are on their third abortion," Auckland University associate professor Felicity Goodyear Smith told the Eastern Courier newspaper. "There are Korean, Japanese, Thai and Vietnamese, but Chinese women predominate."

Smith says the number of abortions on Asians has dropped slightly over the years, likely because fewer are coming from the mainland countries to New Zealand to study than in years past.

In 2006, 2940 women from Asian ethnic groups had abortions, a decrease from 3500 in 2003.

"These women are mostly non-resident or recent immigrant Chinese," Smith told the newspaper. "Many of them are students away from their families, lacking exposure to contraceptive education normally available to young New Zealanders."

He said the figures were high because of cultural values that regard abortion as a method of family planning whereas native New Zealand residents don't see abortion that way.

In January, Right to Life of New Zealand issued a call for the government to implement a moratorium on the killing of unborn children by abortion.

RTLNZ representative Ken Orr told LifeNews.com that the government voted in December for a resolution at the United Nations General Assembly calling for a global moratorium on executions. He said a similar moratorium on abortion should follow suit.

He said it is "hypocritical" for the government to call for an end to the death penalty and "take the moral high ground on this important human rights issue when they accept that it is a human right for a mother to kill her unborn child."

"The government continues to delude itself in believing that it has an admirable and exemplary human rights record. The truth is that the government’s hands are covered in the blood of our aborted children," Orr concluded.

Related web sites:
Right to Life of New Zealand - http://www.right-to-life.org