When Did Nz Legalise Abortion

The video hosts make several claims about New Zealand legislation, including abortion, which will be available on demand until birth; sex-selective abortion is legalized; It will not be necessary for a doctor to be involved in the performance of an abortion; and no requirement for babies born after a “failed abortion” to receive medical assistance. It is difficult to say how many women have had illegal abortions. Statistics of women who went to hospital after an abortion gone wrong show that at least 42 women died in 1934. Dr Helen Paterson, a women`s health expert at the University of Otago, echoed Prof. Helen Paterson. Henaghan and pointed to Section 11 of the Abortion Act 2020, which states: “A qualified physician may only provide abortion services to a woman who is more than 20 weeks pregnant if he or she reasonably believes that the abortion is clinically appropriate in the circumstances.” A “pro-freedom” group claims in an Instagram video that New Zealand has passed the “most extreme” abortion laws in the world, allowing abortions on demand until birth. “It`s not limited to doctors, it also includes qualified midwives and qualified nurses, but it has to be a qualified doctor – not everyone can perform an abortion,” he said. “It`s not correct what they said there.” At the end of February 2018, Justice Minister Andrew Little sought advice from the New Zealand Law Commission on the reorientation of the legal framework for abortion towards a health approach. The Law Commission also received 3,419 public filings to reform the abortion law between April 4 and May 18, 2018. In late October 2018, the Law Commission proposed three options: no legal test to ensure that abortion was appropriate at all times; abortion under criminal law, but with a legal test; or get tested for late-term abortions only after 22 weeks. [58] “For more than forty years, abortion has been the only medical procedure considered a crime in New Zealand. But from now on, abortions are rightly treated as a health problem,” Justice Minister Andrew Little said in a statement after the law was passed.

In response to the growing public debate on abortion, Parliament established a Royal Commission on Contraception, Sterilization and Abortion to review public policy on these issues. On the recommendation of the Commission, on 15 December 1978, the Third State Government passed the Contraception, Sterilisation and Abortion Act 1977 (CS&A Act 1977), which established the legal framework for abortion in New Zealand. Under the CS&A Act, a woman seeking an abortion had to consult with her doctor and the two medical advisors who would assess the psychological and physical reasons for performing an abortion. A surgeon would also be required to perform an abortion. Counselling was also offered to women seeking abortions. The CS&A Act also established an Abortion Monitoring Committee to regulate certifying consultants responsible for approving abortions. The law also required district health departments to fund abortions. In the late 1970s and 1980s, several public and private abortion clinics opened in Auckland, Wellington and Christchurch. [20] [25] [26] The caption next to the video reads: “New Zealand has the most extreme abortion legislation in the world. You can now have an abortion in New Zealand for any reason, without medical consultation, until birth. The baby can be born partially to harvest his heart, and then be “aborted”.

The baby will have no pain relief. Even if you are “pro-choice” when it comes to abortion. THAT`S TOO FAR! It is clear that most New Zealanders see a woman`s decision about abortion as a decision for them. This means that abortion services can be provided closer to home, including in primary care and telemedicine. The New Zealand Parliament has passed a law that decriminalizes abortion and allows women to choose abortion up to the 20th week of pregnancy. New Zealand has the most extreme abortion legislation in the world, allowing abortions on demand until birth. On March 3, 2020, the bill passed second reading by a narrow majority of 81 to 39 and was referred to a Committee of the Whole House. [81] On March 10, a House Committee of the Whole considered and rejected several amendments, including reducing penalties for safe zones, abolishing legal testing for abortions up to birth, preventing sex-selective abortions, and calling for medical intervention in cases of unwanted live births. However, the committee passed two amendments, including one by Labour MP Ruth Dyson, which deals with conscientious objection, and one by David Seymour, the ACT MP who eliminates safe zones around abortion clinics.

[82] Since 1978, the Abortion Supervisory Committee (ASC) has collected statistics on the number of abortions performed each year and for what reason under the Contraception, Sterilization, and Abortion Act of 1977. In 1983, Statistics New Zealand agreed to process abortion statistics on behalf of the ASC and in 1998 assumed responsibility for publishing abortion statistics. [122] Since abortion was illegal until 1977, there are no exact figures on abortions until the 1970s. Megan Cook estimates that 10,000 abortions took place each year in the 1930s, based on statistics on the number of women hospitalized for septic abortions during that period. [11] Although the legislation does not explicitly prohibit sex- and disability-selective abortion after 20 weeks, Professor Henaghan says it clarifies that these would not be allowed. In 1982, Melvyn Wall, a paediatrician in New Plymouth, sought judicial review of a decision by two certifying counsellors to allow an abortion for a fifteen-year-old girl, claiming they had acted in “bad faith”. Wall`s application was rejected on the grounds that it had no right to challenge and that the decisions of the accredited consultants were considered non-reviewable. While SPUC President Marilyn Pryor Wall v. Livingston as a major loss for anti-abortion advocates, ALRANZ welcomed the decision to maintain women`s access to abortion services. WONAAC also successfully appealed to the doctors` disciplinary committee to censor Wall for violating patient confidentiality. Wall was also fined NZ$1,500.

While Wall had revoked the censorship, the Medical Council found him liable for malpractice and added $500 in fees to the original amount. [32] The main lobby 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`s branches in Christchurch and Hawke`s Bay closing in 1996 and 2004 respectively. By 2011, ALRANZ`s membership had dropped to about 235. Contemporary abortion rights activism has focused on defending the status quo against abortion opponents and advocating for the legalization of mifepristone for use in medical abortions. [93] Historical pressure groups for abortion rights include the more radical Women`s National Abortion Action Campaign (WONAAC), the Auckland Anti-Hospitals Amendment Bill Committee, the May Abortion Action Committee, and the National Organisation for Women (NOW). [16] [94] [95] We have moved away from a time when legislation and decision-making were dominated by men`s views and an innate distrust of women making decisions for their own health and for ethical reasons.