Local and international delegates and speakers will gather in Auckland tomorrow and Sunday at the Family Life International Pro-Life and Family conference to discuss important pro-life and family issues affecting New Zealand.

The conference will explore issues such as abortion, euthanasia, contraception, sex education, and marriage and family issues.

"Sadly these topics are not discussed in any depth or honesty within our culture, yet they are some of the most important issues of our era, and they will literally define how we are viewed when the history of our times is written" says Family Life International media spokesperson Brendan Malone.

"Issues like the harm caused by abortion, the failed contraceptive based approach to sex education, and the deadly risks of legalized euthanasia, and the societal and personal damage caused by a failure to promote marriage are the elephants in the corner that no one wants to talk about, which is why events like this conference are so important" says Brendan Malone.

Conference delegates will hear presentations from international speakers, as well as local medical professionals and advocates on issues such as the risk of legalized euthanasia to the disabled, sick and elderly; the physical dangers of oral contraceptives; the emotional damage of abortion in the lives of women; why family based sexuality education is best; the little discussed problems of artificial reproduction technologies; how natural fertility regulation empowers couples; the relationship between the church and the state, and much more.

The conference will also feature a special dinner for delegates which will be attended by Pope Benedict's Nuncio in New Zealand, Archbishop Charles Balvo, and which will feature a special performance by US singer/songwriter Jaime Thietten.