‘The time is right’: New Zealand’s parliament advances bill that would decriminalize abortion

‘The time is right’: New Zealand’s parliament advances bill that would decriminalize abortion

By Siobhán O'Grady
August 8, 2019

Lawmakers in New Zealand voted overwhelmingly Thursday in favor of advancing an abortion bill that would dramatically loosen restrictions surrounding the procedure, in one of the most significant steps New Zealand’s leaders have taken toward revising the country’s abortion policies since the late 1970s.

Thursday’s vote was expected to be close, but it advanced easily to the next stage, with 94 voting in favor and 23 against. After further discussion, it will take two more rounds of voting for it to become law.

Continued: https://www.washingtonpost.com/world/2019/08/07/new-zealand-abortion-is-still-crime-prime-minister-jacinda-ardern-could-soon-change-that/

New Zealand Takes On a Long-Avoided Issue: Decriminalizing Abortion

New Zealand Takes On a Long-Avoided Issue: Decriminalizing Abortion

By Charlotte Graham-McLay
Aug. 5, 2019

WELLINGTON, New Zealand — New Zealand’s government said on Monday that it would try to pass a law decriminalizing abortion, taking on an issue that the nation’s lawmakers have long avoided even as the country built a socially liberal reputation on the world stage.

Under current law, women seeking an abortion must claim that the pregnancy would harm their physical or mental health, and have the procedure approved by two doctors.

Continued: https://www.nytimes.com/2019/08/05/world/asia/new-zealand-abortion.html