ALRANZ Abortion Rights Aotearoa salutes the New Zealand Parliament’s passing of the Abortion Legislation Bill at second reading, 81 to 39.
“We are really pleased the margin was so large,” said ALRANZ National president Terry Bellamak.
“The support the bill is receiving in Parliament reflects its support among New Zealanders in general. Polls have consistently shows support for abortion for any reason above 65%.
“Reproductive rights are mainstream, as Dame Margaret Sparrow’s winning Senior New Zealander of the Year demonstrates. Our nation is ready to finally bring our abortion laws into the 21st century.”
Jan Logie’s speech in favour of the bill was interrupted by an anti-abortion heckler. Parliamentary security ejected the offender while Logie pointed out he had unintentionally provided evidence of anti-abortion harassment and the need for safe areas, a point reinforced by the attack on Green Party co-leader James Shaw by an abortion opponent last year.
“Ruth Dyson’s speech was really inspiring. She engaged in some radical truth telling in her speech when she called out Sir Bill English for making false accusations of doctors gruesomely killing babies in abortions at later gestations, a claim Dame Margaret Sparrow characterised as scaremongering,” Bellamak noted.
“It was a night to be proud of our Parliament.”
See ALRANZ’s analysis of the post-select committee bill here: http://alranz.org/the-abortion-legislation-select-committee-reports-back-bismarck-vindicated/
In New Zealand, abortion is still in the Crimes Act.
ALRANZ wants to reform New Zealand’s laws around abortion. Under New Zealand’s current abortion laws, two certifying consultants must approve every abortion under a narrow set of grounds set out in the Crimes Act. Those grounds do not include rape, nor the most common reasons cited overseas: contraception failure and the inability to support a child.
Poll results show a majority of New Zealanders support the right to access abortion on request.