Information and advice on abortion in New Zealand is now available from www.DECIDE.org.nz or by calling 0800 DECIDE (0800 332 433). Funded by the Department of Health and managed by Family Planning New Zealand and Magma Healthcare, the service is part of ongoing work to improve timely and equal access to abortion. The first abortion clinic in New Zealand was the Auckland Medical Aid Centre (AMAC), which opened in 1974 and introduced the practice of vacuum aspiration to New Zealand. By the end of his first year, he had aborted 2,288 women. By 1975, that number had risen to 4,005. AMAC has drawn opposition from anti-abortion activists, including arson attacks. New Zealand police also raided the AMAC in 1974, resulting in the prosecution and acquittal of one of their doctors, Jim Woolnough. [20] [21] [22] Am 8. In August, the abortion bill passed first reading by a vote of 94 to 23 and was referred to the select committee stage. [72] [73] As of October 2019, the Committee on Abortion Legislation had received 25,000 submissions from various legal and medical experts, religious groups, national organizations, and ordinary people sharing personal experiences. Due to the large number of briefs, the committee heard only 150 oral submissions out of the 2,890 who chose to speak. [74] [75] In the 1970s and 1980s, the abortion rate per woman increased from 0.02 in 1971 to 0.30 in 1986. The number of single women seeking abortions, including those in common-law relationships, has also increased.
Meanwhile, women aged 24 and under were more likely to request an abortion than older women. While European New Zealanders were more likely to abort at a younger age to terminate an unwanted pregnancy, Maori and Pacific New Zealanders were more willing to resort to abortion due to lack of access to contraception. [20] In the 2010s, a wave of international amendments to the Abortion Reform Act led to a new campaign by New Zealand abortion rights advocates to decriminalize abortion. ALRANZ and other abortion rights groups have argued that abortion is a matter of reproductive health and rights that should be removed from the crime law. In 2018, ALRANZ and a group of women who had abortions filed a complaint with the Human Rights Commission questioning the existing legal framework for abortion in New Zealand. [60] Several jurisdictions, including Canada, the Netherlands, and some Australian states and territories, allow abortions on demand up to 24 weeks or later. compared to 20 weeks in New Zealand. “For more than forty years, abortion has been the only medical procedure considered a crime in New Zealand. But from now on, abortions will be treated rightly as a health problem,” Justice Minister Andrew Little said in a statement after the law was passed. The main advocacy group for abortion rights is the Abortion Law Reform Association of New Zealand (ALRANZ), which advocates for the complete decriminalization of abortion in New Zealand. [91] [92] In the 1990s and early 2000s, ALRANZ experienced a sharp decline in membership, with ALRANZ stores in Christchurch and Hawke`s Bay closing in 1996 and 2004.
By 2011, the number of alRANZ members had fallen to about 235. Contemporary abortion rights activism has focused on defending the status quo against abortion opponents and lobbying for the legalization of mifepristone for use in medical abortions. [93] Historical lobby groups for abortion rights included the more radical Women`s National Abortion Action Campaign (WONAAC), the Auckland Anti-Hospital Amendment Committee, the May Abortion Action Committee, and the National Women`s Organisation (NOW). [16] [94] [95] The claim that the law meets the requirements for babies born after a failed abortion to receive medical support is also false. The video`s presenters make several claims about New Zealand`s legislation, including abortion, which will be available on demand until birth; sex-selective abortion is legalized; It is not necessary for a doctor to be involved in performing an abortion. and no obligation for babies born after a “failed abortion” to receive medical assistance. Up to and including 20 weeks of pregnancy, a qualified doctor can perform an abortion. You can turn to an abortion service yourself, and there is no legal age limit for who can have an abortion. The law states that you must be offered advice after an abortion, but it is up to you to decide whether or not to do so.
Professor Mark Henaghan, a family law expert at the University of Auckland, told AAP FactCheck that it is wrong to say that abortions in New Zealand are available on demand for some reason until birth. In 1936, New Zealand`s first Labor government set up a committee led by D.G. McMillan to study the incidence of septic abortion in New Zealand. The report estimates that at least 13 out of 100 pregnancies have resulted in a criminal abortion, with that number increasing over the previous five years. During the same period, while maternal mortality had declined, the number of deaths due to septic abortions had increased, accounting for two-fifths of total maternal mortality. From testimony before the committee, it was found that one of the main reasons for abortion was a change in social attitude, “particularly with regard to the education of large families” and “an attitude of compassionate superiority over women with many children.” Other reasons were the lack of adequate housing in cities, the lack of help for women in performing household chores and the widespread use of ineffective contraceptive methods. [12] [13] [11] False. New Zealand only allows abortions after 20 weeks if a doctor deems it appropriate, in accordance with several other jurisdictions. According to Statistics New Zealand, the number of abortions increased from 8.5 per 1,000 women aged 15 to 44 in 1980 to 14 per 1,000 women in 1990.
By 2000, that number had risen to 18.7 per 1,000 women aged 15 to 44, but has since fallen to 13.5 per 1,000 women in 2018. [3] Abortion is only illegal if a person who is not a licensed physician obtains or performs it. [4] [5] In March 2022, New Zealand introduced explicit “safe access zones” through abortion clinic and/or hospital laws. [6] Under the old law, abortion was a criminal offence in New Zealand, and a woman could only legally have an abortion if two doctors certified that the continuation of the pregnancy would pose a threat to her mental or physical health. However, reproduction law experts told AAP FactCheck that the claim was false. New Zealand decriminalized abortions in March 2020, but only allows them after 20 weeks with the approval of two doctors, in line with several other jurisdictions around the world. There have been no changes to the law. Abortion is legal in New Zealand, and recent legislative changes have facilitated access to abortion in New Zealand Aotearoa. In the 1930s, Isabel Annie Aves was tried four times without conviction for “unlawful use of an instrument with intent to cause miscarriage.” [14] In the 1940s, activists like Alice Bush campaigned for access to medical abortions.
[15] The New Conservative Party, which has never been represented in the New Zealand parliament, opposes abortion and advocates for notifying parents of teenage abortions. [121] Since 1978, the Abortion Monitoring Committee (ASC) has collected statistics on the number of abortions performed each year and for what reason, in accordance with the provisions of the Contraception, Sterilization, and Abortion Act of 1977.