Abortions are carried out in medical facilities around the country, but the act of terminating a pregnancy sits under the Crimes Act.
Now, as the government moves to change that, John Campbell speaks to New Zealand's most vocal reproductive rights advocate, Dame Margaret Sparrow.
After the Law Commission released its briefing paper on what abortion reform could look like last month, Prime Minister Jacinda Ardern said her view was that it should be treated as a health issue, rather than "something that is contained in the Crimes Act”.
A number of politicians, among them National Party leader Simon Bridges, however believe the current law is working and do not want to see abortion removed from the Act. And pro-life, or anti-abortion, advocates argue that abortion is taking the life of an unborn child and so is rightly governed under that law.
Dame Margaret notes that under the current legislation rape is not a reason for an abortion to be granted and explains: “They thought, if rape was a ground, all women would cry rape.”
Family Planning Chief Executive Jackie Edmond adds: “We want New Zealanders to trust women to make their own decisions. They shouldn’t have to face barriers or complex processes to access an abortion.”
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