Abortion in New Zealand

Based on evidence heard before the committee, it was found that a major reason for abortions was a change in social outlook, "particularly towards the rearing of large families" and "an attitude of pitying superiority towards the woman with many children."

[15] Following the Second World War, the Sexual Revolution during the 1960s led a change in societal attitudes towards matters of sex, birth control, and motherhood including abortion.

McCulloch estimates that SOS chapters across New Zealand including Auckland and Wellington sent between 4,000 and 4,500 women to Australia for abortion operations during that period.

[20][25][26] The CS&A Act was criticised by the feminist group Campaign to Oppose Repressive Abortion Laws (CORAL) and WONAAC as being too restrictive and infringing on women's reproductive rights.

After 20 weeks, abortion was permitted on the grounds of saving the mother's life and preventing serious permanent injury to her mental and physical health.

ALRANZ and other abortion rights groups shifted their attention to lobbying for sex education in schools and easing young people's access to contraceptives.

In 1981, the president of SPUC's Dunedin branch, John O'Neill sought injunctions on behalf of men who wanted to stop their lovers or partners from having abortions.

[31] In 1982, a New Plymouth paediatrician Melvyn Wall sought a judicial review of a decision by two certifying consultants to allow an abortion for a fifteen-year-old girl, alleging that they had acted in "bad faith".

While SPUC's President Marilyn Pryor regarded Wall vs. Livingston as a major loss for anti-abortion advocates, ALRANZ welcomed the ruling for upholding women's access to abortion services.

WONAAC also successfully appealed to the Medical Practitioners' Disciplinary Committee for Wall to be censured on the grounds that he had violated patient confidentiality.

While Wall had the censure revoked, the Medical Council found him liable for professional misconduct and added $500 in costs to the original amount.

[34] During the late 1980s, WONAAC unsuccessfully lobbied several feminist MPs including Sonja Davies and the Minister of Women's Affairs Margaret Shields for a more liberal abortion law in the form of a private member's bill.

Operation Rescue was also criticised for its aggressive tactics by the anti-abortion movement with Women for Live's president Anettta Moran rejecting the group's willingness to break the law.

In response to that report, the newly-formed Fifth Labour Government, which was in coalition with the Alliance party, made attempts to reform New Zealand's abortion laws.

[39] Former ALRANZ president Margaret Sparrow established a non-profit company called Istar to import mifepristone (formerly known as RU 486), a pill used in medical abortions to cause the embryo to dislodge from the uterine wall, and a prostaglandin supplement to expel the remains.

[47] Copeland has since been voted out of Parliament, as he did not secure a constituency seat at the New Zealand general election held in 2008 and his Kiwi Party polled well under the five percent threshold under the MMP framework in the Electoral Act 1993.

[50] Due to fierce opposition from anti-abortion opponents and a lack of sufficient parliamentary support, Chadwick was unable to get the numbers to put her Bill into ballot.

A High Court decision supported some of Right to Life New Zealand's points, finding that there was de facto abortion on demand.

[54][55] On 7 April 2011, during the term of the 49th New Zealand Parliament, Māori Party co-leader Tariana Turia moved that an anti-abortion Pacific Island doctor, Ate Moala, be appointed to the Abortion Supervisory Committee.

[56] That same year, anti-abortion groups successfully campaigned against an attempt by Family Planning New Zealand to introduce early medical abortions at one of its clinics.

[42] In late February 2018, the Minister of Justice Andrew Little sought advice from the New Zealand Law Commission on realigning the country's abortion legal framework towards a health approach.

Section 11 states that "a qualified health practitioner may provide abortion services to a woman who is more than 20 weeks pregnant only if the health practitioner reasonably believes that the abortion is appropriate in the circumstances..."[60] A Down Syndrome-themed anti-abortion group "Saving Downs" and conservative disability acticvists objected to Section 11 on the grounds that would facilitate the termination of babies with disabilities right through to birth.

[63][64][65][66] By contrast, conservative lobby group Family First New Zealand criticised the Government's abortion law reform as "radical... and anti-human rights".

[72][73] By October 2019, the Abortion Legislation Committee had received 25,000 submissions from various legal and medical experts, religious groups, national organisations and ordinary people sharing personal experiences.

[76][77][78] In addition, conservative Catholic National MP Agnes Loheni published a minority report criticising the bill for what she regarded as a lack of safeguards on foetal abnormalities and late-term abortions.

ACT New Zealand leader David Seymour supported the Select Committee's recommendations but argued that safe zones infringed on freedom of expression.

[98] The New Zealand Association of Rationalists and Humanists (NZARH) long advocated the removal of abortion from the Crimes Act 1961, viewing it as a matter of reproductive rights.

[105] Some of these anti-abortion groups had international connections from which they derived tactics, strategy, rhetoric and messaging and also took an interest in other issues including euthanasia and in vitro fertilisation.

After "alranz.org.nz" was shut down by a successful complaint, Moore created a wiki called "AbortionWiki" which targeted ALRANZ and other abortion rights supporters.

These violent attacks on clinics were disavowed by anti-abortion leaders including Marilyn Pryor and Auckland SPUC president John Carroll.