Media release from the University of Otago
Thursday 13 May 2021
A person’s stance on abortion is linked to their, often inaccurate, belief about when a fetus can feel pain, a University of Otago study has found.
Lead author Emma Harcourt, PhD candidate in Otago’s Centre for Science Communication, says misinformation about abortion and pregnancy is common and potentially harmful.
Continued: https://www.nzdoctor.co.nz/article/abortion-opposition-related-beliefs-about-fetal-pain-perception
Wednesday, 12 May 2021
Press Release: New Zealand Law Society
The New Zealand Law Society | Te Kāhui Ture o Aotearoa has told a parliamentary select committee that the definition of "prohibited behaviour" in proposed ‘safe areas’ for abortion facilities is inconsistent with the New Zealand Bill of Rights Act and needs to be reconsidered.
The Contraception, Sterilisation and Abortion (Safe Areas) Amendment Bill proposes amending the 1977 Act to provide for regulations to set up safe areas around specific abortion facilities on a case-by-case basis.
Media release from the University of Otago
Friday 30 April 2021
Aotearoa achieved a major milestone in sexual and reproductive health and rights with the decriminalisation of abortion, but a University of Otago academic argues abortion care is still not being provided within the full extent of the law.
Emma Macfarlane, a Lecturer in the Department of Women's and Children's Health, believes little has changed in the way abortion services are organised in the year since the Abortion Legislation Act 2020 came in. She also argues we are yet to realise the full extent of abortion care within a decriminalised environment.
Monday, 15 March 2021
Press Release: New Zealand Government
Much-needed transformation of abortion services is a step closer, Associate Minister of Health Dr Ayesha Verrall said.
In March last year, a new law was passed which decriminalised abortion and treats it as a health issue. Previously, the Ministry of Justice oversaw the administration of abortion services rather than the Ministry of Health.
Continued: https://www.scoop.co.nz/stories/PA2103/S00098/improving-access-to-abortion-services.htm
8 March 2021
A new requirement in the Abortion Legislation Act 2020 requires a practitioner who objects to abortion to refer the patient to a doctor who can help them.
The Health Professionals' Alliance is fighting for a declaration that the new law interferes with the Bill of Rights Act.
Continued: https://www.rnz.co.nz/news/national/437917/health-practioners-sue-crown-over-abortion-legislation
Terry Bellamak | Guest writer
March 8, 2021
This week, a bill that would ensure pregnant people seeking abortion don’t have to be confronted by angry mobs outside of clinics is expected to have its first reading. Terry Bellamak explains why safe areas are so crucial for vulnerable patients.
Last March, New Zealand legalised abortion. The new law changed many things for the better – no more seeking approval of certifying consultants, no more having to lie to come within the grounds in the Crimes Act. But due to a procedural misstep, safe areas did not make it into the final version. MPs asked too late for a roll call vote. To be fair, it was late at night.
Continued: https://thespinoff.co.nz/society/08-03-2021/why-we-need-safe-areas-outside-abortion-clinics/
Local abortion services remain unavailable to people living in much of the sprawling South Auckland area - which has a population of close to 600,000 and encapsulates some of the most deprived suburbs of New Zealand - despite the issue being repeatedly raised for more than 12 years.
21 December 2020
Susan Strongman
People living within the Counties Manukau District Health Board (DHB) catchment who need an abortion must travel to the affluent central Auckland suburb of Greenlane. Experts say this creates an access barrier for South Auckland women.
Financial barriers created by the lack of a local service can include the cost of travel, childcare and taking time off work. For people living in Counties Manukau, where the population is younger, and more deprived than elsewhere in New Zealand, those costs can be significant. The area is also home to a high number of Pacific peoples, of whom 64 percent are 'highly deprived', according to Health Ministry data. The Counties Manukau DHB describes Pacific peoples' engagement with and access to health services when they need them as being "a challenge".
Continued: https://www.rnz.co.nz/news/in-depth/433305/lack-of-south-auckland-abortion-services-unacceptable
Wednesday, 16 December 2020
Press Release: ALRANZ Abortion Rights Aotearoa
ALRANZ Abortion Rights Aotearoa notes with disappointment that the Ministry of Health survey shows improvements to abortion care have not reached all DHBs.
While delays for early medical and surgical abortions have shortened in some DHBs, others still do not offer abortion care at all. Different DHBs do not provide medical abortions, or telemedicine, or abortions post 20 weeks gestation.
Continued: https://www.scoop.co.nz/stories/GE2012/S00067/abortion-care-equity-not-improving-fast-enough.htm
The Associate Health Minister says she's watching district health boards "very closely" after a survey found variations in abortion services offered across the country.
Dec 15, 2020
By Susan Strongman
It's been more than eight months since abortion law reform came into force, yet the Ministry of Health survey found in some parts of New Zealand early medical abortions - where two pills are taken to induce a miscarriage within the first nine weeks of pregnancy - are not locally available at all.
It also found significant differences in later gestation abortion services offered across DHBs, meaning it's harder form some people to access the procedure because of where they live.
AFP New Zealand, Taylor Thompson Fuller
Published on Monday 30 November 2020
A video posted by a British pro-life group on Facebook that contains multiple misleading claims about New Zealand’s abortion laws has been viewed tens of thousands of times. The video includes a false suggestion that abortion in New Zealand is “available on-demand, for any reason, up to birth”. Similar claims were published in multiple other anti-abortion posts shared in the United States.
The video was published by Right To Life UK here on Facebook on October 14, where it has been viewed more than 120,000 times.
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