New Zealand passes landmark law to decriminalise abortion

New Zealand passes landmark law to decriminalise abortion
Campaigners hail move that will reclassify abortion as a health issue rather than a crime

Eleanor Ainge Roy
Wed 18 Mar 2020

New Zealand has passed a landmark bill to decriminalise abortion after decades of campaigning.

Andrew Little, the justice minister, said it was long overdue that the procedure would become classified as a health matter and not a criminal one.

The issue was scheduled to be put to a public referendum, but the government scrapped that option late on Wednesday.

Continued: https://www.theguardian.com/world/2020/mar/18/new-zealand-passes-landmark-law-decriminalise-abortion

18.03.2020

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ALRANZ Abortion Rights Aotearoa

Andrew Little

Family First New Zealand

New Zealand Crimes Act

Can Ardern Successfully Decriminalize Abortion in New Zealand?

Can Ardern Successfully Decriminalize Abortion in New Zealand?

The Editors, World Politics Review
Friday, Sept. 20, 2019

New Zealand’s Parliament voted overwhelmingly last month to advance a bill that would decriminalize abortion and loosen restrictions on the procedure. Under current law, women can only obtain an abortion in New Zealand if they receive approval from two doctors, and Prime Minister Jacinda Ardern promised to change that while campaigning in 2017. The bill must pass two more rounds of voting before it can become law.

According to Yanshu Huang, a research fellow at the University of Auckland’s Public Policy Institute, Ardern’s push for reform also reflects a broader change in public opinion among New Zealanders, toward more pro-choice views. In an email interview with WPR, she discusses the roots of abortion’s anachronistic classification as a crime in New Zealand and the reasons it took so long for abortion law reform to gain traction.

Continued: https://www.worldpoliticsreview.com/trend-lines/28205/can-ardern-successfully-decriminalize-abortion-in-new-zealand

New Zealand – Big Read: Abortion law reform – what’s at stake?

Big Read: Abortion law reform - what's at stake?
17 Jun, 2018
20 minutes to read
By: Dawn Picken

Abortion is in the spotlight again, after voters in Ireland voted overwhelmingly late last month to overturn the largely Catholic country's ban by 66.4 per cent to 33.6 per cent. The Emerald Isle's referendum comes as a law commission in New Zealand considers removing abortion from the Crimes Act. Bay of Plenty Times Weekend reporter Dawn Picken spoke with advocates, activists and women who've had or considered abortions about what decriminalising the procedure means to them.

*note: names of women who've had abortions have been changed to protect privacy.
Heartbreaking Pregnancy

Tania and Scott were thrilled when they learned they were pregnant with their second child. Everything was going well when the couple went for their 20-week ultrasound to learn the baby's sex. It was a boy, says Tania.

Continued: https://www.nzherald.co.nz/nz/news/article.cfm?c_id=1&objectid=12070558

New Zealand: Labour leader Jacinda Ardern tackles ‘smear campaign’ on abortion stance

Labour leader Jacinda Ardern tackles 'smear campaign' on abortion stance
11 Sep, 2017
Jacinda Ardern talks about abortion on Newstalk ZB leader's breakfast.

Corazon Miller, Reporter, NZ Herald

Labour leader Jacinda Ardern says she's the victim of a deliberate misinformation campaign about her stance on abortion.

The question of where she drew the line was raised during her interview on this morning's Newstalk ZB leaders breakfast segment with Larry Williams.

Family First NZ's Bob McCoskrie asked if Ardern would personally endorse Abortion Law Reform Association of New Zealand's preferred new law, based on a Canadian model that would seek to legalise abortion on demand up till birth.

Continued at source: New Zealand Herald: http://www.nzherald.co.nz/nz/news/article.cfm?c_id=1&objectid=11920894

11.09.2017