You may or may not have heard about a High Court case from last week – New Zealand Health Professionals’ Alliance v Attorney-General. It’s about the right of health practitioners to refuse to provide legal, proper healthcare because they object to it on moral grounds. This is so-called “conscientious objection”. But really, this case is Read more
The new Texas heartbeat abortion law has claimed its first offender. The people who dobbed the offender in may get the first big payout for doing so. The doctor who said he performed an abortion in violation of the new state law was sued Monday by two non-Texas residents. This is thought to be the Read more
Eight women who have had abortions have asked the prime minister to be cautious about any changes made to the abortion law. They have written Jacinda Ardern an open letter, published on Sunday as a full-page advertisement in the Sunday Star-Times, the Herald on Sunday and in the Dominion Post on Monday. Spokesperson Barbara Hill said that it was time Read more
On Friday the Law Commission’s ministerial briefing paper providing advice to the Minister of Justice on proposed changes to the abortion law in New Zealand was released. Bishop Patrick Dunn, President of the New Zealand Catholic Bishops Conference, noted “the paper is substantial and so we need time to read it and give it careful Read more
Waiariki MP Tamati Coffey supports a review of New Zealand’s abortion laws while National MP Todd McClay said he would seek views from the Rotorua electorate before casting his vote. Continue reading.
National Party leader Simon Bridges says he would be “loath” to take abortion out of the Crimes Act. On Monday, Jack Tame on TVNZ and Susie Ferguson on Morning report challenged his position. Bridges said his position on abortions was that they should be “rare, safe, legal” – with an emphasis on rare. He said Read more
Over 3.5 million Argentinians have joined forces in 117 cities to protest against a bill to liberalise the country’s abortion laws. The motto of the rally was “Protect them both,” meaning the mother and the unborn child. Catholics – as well as Evangelicals, atheists and others marched together to make their views known. Most of Read more
“Pregnancy is not a disease and abortion is not health care.” The comment was made in response to possible abortion law reform by Right To Life Spokesperson, Ken Orr. “Never before in the history of New Zealand has there been an attempt to withdraw from the Crimes Act, protection for the lives of a category Read more
National MP Chester Borrows has presented a petition to Parliament, which will now go through select committee, asking for an amendment to the Care of Children Act. The Labour Party and Family Planning say they will fight the proposed amendment. The petition was prompted by the experience of the Kieft family in Stratford in 2009. Read more
Doctors are subverting abortion law by adopting “liberal criteria” as to what constitutes a mental health problem, allowing women to more easily undergo the procedure, says David Fergusson, a University of Otago professor of psychology. He is is not anti-abortion; he says that the law should be liberalised and a set of guidelines should be established to Read more