Abortion Law Reform Association of New Zealand

Last updated

The Abortion Law Reform Association of New Zealand (ALRANZ) is New Zealand's national abortion-rights advocacy group in existence since 1971. Since the decriminalisation of abortion in 2020, the organisation continues to monitor and lobby for changes to the law. The organisation is based in Wellington, publishes a quarterly newsletter, and has its own web site.

Contents

ALRANZ logo ALRANZ logo (no font).jpg
ALRANZ logo

Founding of ALRANZ

The Abortion Law Reform Association of New Zealand (ALRANZ) was founded in response to organising by anti-abortion rights groups, such as the Catholic organisation the Society for the Protection of the Unborn Child (SPUC). [1] The campaigns of these anti-abortion rights groups provoked a strong reaction, with some questioning the veracity of their claims about the medical consequences of abortion and the experiences of overseas countries with liberal laws. Pro-abortion rights supporters perceived suffering of unhappily pregnant women seeking abortion and considered that children needed to be born to mothers who wanted them and could support them. [2] [3] On 4 August 1970, a group of approximately 60 concerned individuals met in Auckland to form ALRANZ. [2]

The founding meeting in 1970 was chaired by Wayne Facer, an Auckland University administrator, who became the first research officer for ALRANZ. At the meeting, it was decided that a steering committee should be formed, charged with drafting aims and objectives. The steering committee reported back to a meeting held in the Unitarian Church, Ponsonby Road on 15 September 1970. At that meeting ALRANZ endorsed the draft aims, and a constitution was prepared to establish ALRANZ as an incorporated society. [4] Some of the early members included family planning doctor and paediatrician, Dr Alice Bush (1914–1974). As at 1975, the following served on the Advisory Council for ALRANZ. [5]

Leadership

Dame Margaret Sparrow, former national president of ALRANZ Abortion Rights Aotearoa Dame Sparrow.png
Dame Margaret Sparrow, former national president of ALRANZ Abortion Rights Aotearoa

Policy position

ALRANZ lobbied for total decriminalisation of abortion in New Zealand for 40 years, a goal that was finally realised in 2020. [12] Despite the law change, ALRANZ continues to lobby for improvements to the law and to monitor its implementation. The organisation continues to lobby for the following legal changes:

In so doing, ALRANZ wants to see abortion laws that no longer breach the fundamental human rights of those seeking to terminate a pregnancy. The organisation wants abortion to be treated purely as health care issue, not a moral issue. [13]

The law reform process

After its inception in 1970, ALRANZ became a de facto referral and advice service for women and their families, despite the lack of abortion services in the country at the time. [1]

The early years: 1970–1980s

Abortion deaths, 1927-1970 Abortion deaths.gif
Abortion deaths, 1927–1970

AMAC Abortion Clinic

New Zealand’s first abortion clinic, the Auckland Medical Aid Centre, opened in Remuera, Auckland, on 17 May 1974 and although it was not an ALRANZ project, many ALRANZ members were actively involved. The clinic offended the authorities and sparked a series of police actions, court cases and moves in Parliament to rein in abortion access. These in turn prompted the Labour Government to announce the establishment of a Royal Commission on Contraception Sterilisation and Abortion to examine New Zealand's laws. [14]

The Royal Commission

In November 1975, Dr Margaret Sparrow made a submission to the commission on behalf of ALRANZ, and came under sustained personal attack from lawyers from SPUC (Society for the Protection of Unborn Children), who were permitted to question her. While other groups made submissions, the Royal Commission was dominated by SPUC and its lawyers. [14]

The Contraception, Sterilisation, and Abortion Act 1977

The Royal Commission recommended a bill, designed by SPUC, to make it difficult to get an abortion. Their motivations centred around concerns about the decline in churchgoing and the changing role of women in society. In the final analysis, they hoped to turn the clock back on the 1960s. Immediately after passage of the law, hundreds of women were forced to travel to Australia for abortion care. This represented an escalation of a trend that began in the 1970s, in which pregnant New Zealanders had to travel to get abortion care. SOS (Sisters Overseas Service) groups were set up across the country to help women travel, with ALRANZ members involved in many of those groups. [14]

In January 1982, Melvyn Wall, an anti-abortion paediatrician, challenged the decision of two certifying consultants to approve an abortion for a 15-year-old. The case became famous as Wall v Livingston, after Wall and one of the two certifying consultants involved. Wall lost the case. Wall v Livingston became one of the foundations of New Zealand's abortion regime; it protects the independence of certifying consultants to make decisions without interference.

The 1980s saw continued skirmishing but no notable legislative changes. However, during that time, health boards began providing abortion services, including opening clinics in Wellington (Parkview, 1980) and Christchurch (Lyndhurst, 1986). These clinics faced sustained opposition, in the form of arson attacks and bomb threats. ALRANZ and other pro-abortion rights organisations worked to defend clinics and abortion services, as well as continuing to advocate for law change.

1990s–2000s

Despite ongoing lobbying efforts by ALRANZ and other pro-abortion rights groups, the 1990s saw no legislative changes around abortion rights. Political pressure for change had eased over the years because of the more liberal approach taken by certifying consultants in the wake of Wall v Livingston. Coupled with the end of Second-Wave feminism, groups like ALRANZ that were formed in the 1970s began to lose membership as activism waned. ALRANZ, which at its height had active groups across the country, saw its last branch, in Hawke's Bay, wind up in 2004, meaning it became a national group (based in Wellington) only. A small cadre of committed members in Wellington, including Dame Margaret Sparrow  kept the organisation alive, continuing to produce newsletters, write submissions to reproductive-health related legislation as well as lobby for law change. Sparrow played key roles on other fronts, too including in setting up a not-for-profit company, Istar, to import the abortion pill (mifepristone or RU486) into New Zealand. [15]

21st century

A revival of feminist activism in the new millennium also helped ALRANZ rebuild, as a new generation of women saw New Zealand’s 30-plus year old law as a discriminatory example of outdated notions about reproductive rights and justice.

In 2010, when Healey took over from longtime president Sparrow, a basic website, which Dame Margaret had helped set up, was revamped and younger activists joined the ALRANZ executive. That year ALRANZ supported Labour Party MP Steve Chadwick's 2010 bill to decriminalise abortion up to 24 weeks. [16]

During the period of 2010 to 2017, ALRANZ supported Sparrow in writing key texts on the history of abortion in New Zealand:

  1. Risking Their Lives: NZ Abortion Stories 1900–1939 (Victoria University Press, 2010)
  2. Rough on Women: Abortion in Nineteenth Century New Zealand (VUP, 2014)
  3. Risking Their Lives: NZ Abortion Stories 1900–1939 (VUP, 2017)

In 2013, ALRANZ executive member Alison McCulloch published Fighting to Choose: The Abortion Rights Struggle in New Zealand (VUP), [1] and embarked on a months-long nationwide activist book tour supported by WONAAC and ALRANZ. That same year, Terry Bellamak, in conjunction with ALRANZ, set up the MyDecision site aimed at collating information about doctor, pharmacists, and others involved in reproductive health care who refused to treat patients (under the auspices of "conscientious objection"). [17]

Right to Life NZ v Abortion Supervisory Committee (2005–2012)

In 2005, anti-abortion group Right to Life NZ (RTL, founded in 2000 by Ken Orr, formerly of SPUC) took its long running complaints about how the Abortion Supervisory Committee (ASC) was interpreting the abortion laws to the courts. The cases took many twists and turns, finally reaching the Supreme Court. Along the way, while RTL lost on several key points, including their attempt to secure a legal status under New Zealand Bill of Rights Act for the "unborn child". In 2008, RTL had a positive ruling, in which Forrest Miller J questioned the legality of more than 98 percent of abortions being approved under the mental health ground (section 187A (1)(a) of the Crimes Act 1961). However, when the case ended in August 2012, the Supreme Court ruled that the ASC does not have the power to scrutinise individual doctors' decisions about abortion approvals. The ruling underscored how vulnerable abortion access was under the law before reform. [18] ALRANZ closely followed the case for its seven years, offering analysis and media commentary. After the case ended, ALRANZ continued to question why Crown Law was not moving to collect on the more than $70,000 court costs owed by RTL. Those costs were finally paid in 2015. [19]

Changing the conversation: 2015–2020

In 2015, Bellamak took up leadership of ALRANZ, and under her leadership the organisation lobbied strongly for decriminalisation primarily for health and safety reasons. In a television appearance in 2017, Bellamak challenged the belief—expressed on the programme by then Prime Minister Bill English—that the status quo of de facto abortion on demand was sufficient. Bellamak argued that the law required those seeking an abortion "to basically lie and say they're mentally ill, or they will be mentally ill if they carry the child to term." [20]

Public opinion

A national poll commissioned by ALRANZ in 2017 indicated that a majority of New Zealanders supported the legalisation of abortion in all seven specific circumstances given to them in the survey (e.g., maternal death, contraceptive failure, rape, etc.). [21] These results were supported by the subsequent New Zealand Attitudes and Values Survey. This 20-year longitudinal panel study showed that the majority of New Zealanders support of a person's right to abortion, with support gradually increasing over time. [22] Other smaller surveys, such as the Gender Attitudes Survey, also supported these findings. [23] At the moment of law reform in 2020, support hovered between 65 - 69%.

Labour Party commits to decriminalisation

The change in public sentiment was reflected in national politics. During 2017 national election campaign, the Labour Party, then in opposition, pledged to support decriminalisation. This commitment was announced by the party leader Jacinda Ardern during a televised debate. [24]

Human rights complaint

In 2018 ALRANZ brought a human rights complaint against the New Zealand government for its discriminatory abortion laws and the case went before the Human Rights Review Tribunal. [25] The complaint was withdrawn subsequent to the new legislation passed in March 2020, as law reform had made the issues in the case moot, at least for the time being. [26]

Patient harassment and clinic safe zones

Alongside lobbying for law reform, ALRANZ also spoke out about issues related to abortion services. Harassment of patients accessing services was (and continues to be) an issue that ALRANZ has confronted. In 2016 the question of safe zones outside facilities was raised in response to protests against the anti-abortion harassment of Thames hospital abortion patients. [27] ALRANZ member Scott Summerfield was the local organiser of the protests and along with abortion-rights supporters held protests outside Thames hospital in support of patients who access the abortion service. The issue of safe zones continues to be a concern pursued by ALRANZ subsequent to law reform. [28]

Passage of Abortion Legislation Act 2020

After 40 years of lobbying for change, in March 2020, New Zealand amended its abortion laws and decriminalised abortion after passage of the Abortion Legislation Act 2020. [29] Abortion is now regulated under health legislation. [30]

See also

Related Research Articles

<span class="mw-page-title-main">New Zealand Prostitutes' Collective</span>

The Aotearoa New Zealand Sex Workers' Collective (NZPC), formerly the New Zealand Prostitutes' Collective, is a New Zealand-based organisation that supports sex workers' rights and educates sex workers about minimising the risks of the job.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Prostitution in New Zealand</span> Overview of the legality and practice of prostitution in New Zealand

Prostitution in New Zealand, brothel-keeping, living off the proceeds of someone else's prostitution, and street solicitation are legal in New Zealand and have been since the Prostitution Reform Act 2003 came into effect. Coercion of sex workers is illegal. The 2003 decriminalisation of brothels, escort agencies and soliciting, and the substitution of a minimal regulatory model, created worldwide interest; New Zealand prostitution laws are now some of the most liberal in the world.

Abortion in New Zealand is available within the framework of the Abortion Legislation Act 2020, which entirely eliminated the criminal status of abortion and allows termination on request during the first 20 weeks of pregnancy. After 20 weeks abortion is permitted only if a health practitioner deems it "clinically appropriate" and consults at least one other health practitioner. However, the law does not specify what the conditions are which constitute "clinically appropriate", and there are no criminal penalties. Abortion is illegal only if a person who is not a licensed health practitioner procures or performs it.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Tim Barnett (politician)</span> New Zealand politician

Timothy Andrew Barnett is a New Zealand politician who was the member of the New Zealand House of Representatives for Christchurch Central from 1996 to 2008, representing the Labour Party. He is a British immigrant to New Zealand and New Zealand's second openly gay politician. Barnett moved to South Africa in 2009 to work in the field of HIV/AIDS. He returned to New Zealand in 2012 when he was appointed by the Labour Party as their general secretary.

The Eighth Amendment of the Constitution Act 1983 was an amendment to the Constitution of Ireland which inserted a subsection recognising "the equal right to life of the pregnant woman and the unborn". Abortion had been subject to criminal penalty in Ireland since at least 1861; the amendment ensured that legislation or judicial interpretation would be restricted to allowing abortion in circumstances where the life of a pregnant woman was at risk. It was approved by referendum on 7 September 1983 and signed into law on 7 October 1983. In 2018, it was repealed by referendum.

Abortion in Australia is legal at all stages of pregnancy. There are no federal abortion laws, and full decriminalisation of the procedure has been enacted in all jurisdictions. Access to abortion varies between the states and territories: surgical abortions are readily available on request within the first 22 to 24 weeks of pregnancy in most jurisdictions, and up to 16 weeks in Tasmania. Later term abortions can be obtained with the approval of two doctors, although the Australian Capital Territory only requires a single physician's approval.

Reproductive Freedom for All, formerly NARAL Pro-Choice America and commonly known as simply NARAL, is a non-profit 501(c)(4) organization in the United States that engages in lobbying, political action, and advocacy efforts to oppose restrictions on abortion, to expand access to abortion and birth control, and to support paid parental leave and protection against pregnancy discrimination.

Right to Life New Zealand is a nationwide but Christchurch-based anti-abortion group. It broke away from the New Zealand Society for Protection of the Unborn Child in 2000 following disagreements between the Christchurch branch spokesperson Ken Orr and the national leadership over lobbying tactics. Besides opposing abortion, Right to Life NZ opposes euthanasia, sex education, and specific policies around LGBT issues.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Voice for Life</span>

Voice for Life, formerly known as the Society for the Protection of the Unborn Child (SPUC), is a New Zealand anti-abortion advocacy group. It has also lobbied against infanticide, embryonic stem cell research, cloning and euthanasia. In recent years, it has strongly campaigned against the decriminalisation of euthanasia in New Zealand as well as abortion, but was unsuccessful in preventing the decriminalisation of either in 2020.

Marilyn Valeria Pryor, DSG was a New Zealand conservative Catholic, and anti-abortion advocate who served on the Executive Council of Voice for Life, and served administrative roles for New Zealand's Thomas Stafford Williams. Since the 1990s she worked on, and in her latter years was the editor of, Wellington's Diocese Catholic Newspaper - WelCom. She held an admiration for Cardinal Joseph Bernadin.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Family First New Zealand</span> Conservative Christian Lobby Group

Family First New Zealand is a conservative Christian lobby group in New Zealand. It was founded in March 2006 by former Radio Rhema talkback radio host and South Auckland social-worker Bob McCoskrie who continues to be its National Director. Its 2006 stated objectives were to "seek to influence public policy affecting the rights and protection of families and promote a culture that values the family". In 2009 Victoria University religious studies professor Paul Morris said Family First was "successfully broadening the Christian agenda in New Zealand politics in a way never seen before". In 2020 Family First was described as "New Zealand's most formidable conservative campaigners". Family First was established by a trust deed under the Charitable Trusts Act 1957 in 2006, was registered as a charity in 2007 and deregistered in 2022.

Euthanasia became legal in New Zealand when the End of Life Choice Act 2019 took full effect on 7 November 2021. It is illegal to "aid and abet suicide" under Section 179 of the New Zealand Crimes Act 1961. The clauses of this act make it an offence to "incite, procure or counsel" and "aid and abet" someone else to commit suicide, regardless of whether a suicide attempt is made or not. Section 179 covers both coercion to undertake assisted suicide and true suicide, such as that caused by bullying. This will not change under the End of Life Choices Act 2019, which has provisions on coercion of terminally ill people.

A, B and C v Ireland is a landmark 2010 case of the European Court of Human Rights on the right to privacy under Article 8. The court rejected the argument that article 8 conferred a right to abortion, but found that Ireland had violated the European Convention on Human Rights by failing to provide an accessible and effective procedure by which a woman can have established whether she qualifies for a legal abortion under current Irish law.

Doris Clifton Gordon was a New Zealand doctor, university lecturer, obstetrician and women's health reformer. She was known as 'Dr Doris', famous for her work in rural general practice, for raising the status of obstetrics, improving obstetrics education of medical students and doctors, and working for the welfare of mothers and children.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Margaret Sparrow</span> New Zealand medical doctor, activist and author

Dame Margaret June Sparrow is a New Zealand medical doctor, reproductive rights advocate, and author.

The women's liberation movement in Oceania was a feminist movement that started in the late 1960s and continued through the early 1980s. Influenced by the movement which sought to make personal issues political and bring discussion of sexism into the political discourse in the United States and elsewhere, women in Australia and New Zealand began forming WLM groups in 1969 and 1970. Few organisations formed in the Pacific Islands, but both Fiji and Guam had women affiliated with the movement.

Sisters Overseas Service (SOS) was a New Zealand organisation that helped women travel to Australia to obtain abortions in the 1970s and early 1980s. It was founded in response to the restrictions imposed by the Contraception, Sterlisation, and Abortion Act 1977. SOS arranged for women from all parts of New Zealand to travel to Australian abortion clinics as well as helping to fund women's travel. By 1979 the law was interpreted more liberally reducing the need for the services of SOS.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Abortion Legislation Act 2020</span> Act of Parliament in New Zealand

The Abortion Legislation Act 2020 is an Act of Parliament in New Zealand allowing unrestricted access to abortion within the first 20 weeks of pregnancy, and repealing sections of the Crimes Act 1961 related to unlawful abortion. After the 20-week period, women seeking an abortion must consult a qualified health practitioner who will assess their physical health, mental health, and well-being. The Act also provides provisions for conscientious objection rights for medical practitioners and exempts abortion services from certain Crimes Act provisions, while extending the definition of health services to include abortion services under the Health and Disability Commissioner Act 1994.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Contraception, Sterilisation, and Abortion (Safe Areas) Amendment Act 2022</span> Act of Parliament in New Zealand

The Contraception, Sterilisation, and Abortion Amendment Act 2022 is an Act of Parliament in New Zealand that will provide a regulation-making power to set up safe areas around specific abortion facilities on a case-by-case basis. The Bill passed its third reading on 16 March 2022 and received royal assent on 18 March.

References

  1. 1 2 3 McCulloch, Alison (2013). Fighting to Choose: The Abortion Rights Struggle in New Zealand. Wellington, New Zealand: Victoria University Press. ISBN   9780864738868.
  2. 1 2 ALRANZ. "About us: Past and present". Archived from the original on 30 September 2020. Retrieved 27 September 2020.
  3. ↑ Coney, Sandra (1976). "The abortion protagonists" (PDF). Auckland Broadsheet. 25: 22–27.
  4. 1 2 "Dame Margaret steps aside from abortion reform group". The New Zealand Herald. NZPA. 30 March 2011. Retrieved 20 January 2018.
  5. ↑ Abortion Wiki. "Abortion Law Reform Association of New Zealand". Archived from the original on 28 December 2019. Retrieved 26 September 2020.
  6. ↑ "Index New Zealand Holdings Information". Archived from the original on 30 November 2014.
  7. ↑ "Index New Zealand Holdings Information". Archived from the original on 30 November 2014. Retrieved 27 November 2014.
  8. ↑ "Index New Zealand Holdings Information". Archived from the original on 30 November 2014. Retrieved 27 November 2014.
  9. ↑ Abortion wiki. "Morgan Healey".[ permanent dead link ]
  10. ↑ Scoop Health (28 June 2015). "ALRANZ announces new president".
  11. ↑ Zealand, Massey University, New. "Dr Tracy Morison - Senior Lecturer - Massey University". www.massey.ac.nz. Retrieved 16 January 2022.{{cite web}}: CS1 maint: multiple names: authors list (link)
  12. ↑ Family Planning New Zealand (2020). "The Law around abortion". Archived from the original on 19 December 2019. Retrieved 27 September 2020.
  13. ↑ ALRANZ (2020). "Abortion Law Reform: Achieved" . Retrieved 29 September 2020.
  14. 1 2 3 Cook, Megan (2011). "Abortion - Controversy: 1974 to 1980s". Te Ara - the Encyclopedia of New Zealand: 4.
  15. ↑ Istar (2011). "History of Istar".
  16. ↑ ALRANZ website: ALRANZ Backs MP’s Legalisation Proposal, July 3, 2010 Archived February 6, 2013, at the Wayback Machine (accessed on July 14, 2010)
  17. ↑ ALRANZ (28 February 2014). "Contraception, Abortion: Whose Decision?" . Retrieved 29 September 2020.
  18. ↑ Supreme Court of New Zealand (2012). "Right to life v The abortion supervisory committee" (PDF). Retrieved 29 September 2020.
  19. ↑ ALRANZ (24 June 2015). "RTL Owes $72,500 in Court Costs" (Media Release). Retrieved 20 September 2020.
  20. ↑ One news (13 March 2017). "Kiwi women seeking abortions 'have to basically lie and say they're mentally ill'". One News.
  21. ↑ "Abortion poll". Curia Market Research. 13 March 2017. Retrieved 11 October 2020.
  22. ↑ Huang, Yanshu; Osborne, Danny; Sibley, Chris G. (2019). "Sociodemographic factors associated with attitudes toward abortion in New Zealand" (PDF). New Zealand Medical Journal. 132 (1497): 9–20. PMID   31220061.
  23. ↑ National Council of Women of New Zealand (2019). "2019 Gender Attitudes Survey" (PDF). Retrieved 11 October 2020.
  24. ↑ Roy, Eleanor Ainge (5 September 2017). "New Zealand election: Jacinda Ardern pledges to decriminalise abortion". The Guardian. Retrieved 11 October 2020.
  25. ↑ Newsroom staff (9 October 2018). "Abortion case headed for Human Rights Tribunal". Newsroom.
  26. ↑ ALRANZ. "ALRANZ's Complaint to the Human Rights Commission". Archived from the original on 17 October 2020. Retrieved 11 October 2020.
  27. ↑ Trevett, Claire; Harris, Sarah (16 August 2016). "Abortion 'no-protest zone' suggested". New Zealand Herald. Retrieved 11 October 2020.
  28. ↑ "Harassment". ALRANZ: Abortion Rights Aotearoa. Archived from the original on 30 September 2020. Retrieved 11 October 2020.
  29. ↑ "Abortion Legislation Bill passes third and final reading in Parliament". Radio New Zealand . 18 March 2020. Archived from the original on 30 March 2020.
  30. ↑ Ministry of Health (2020). "Considering abortion" . Retrieved 29 September 2020.
This page is based on this Wikipedia article
Text is available under the CC BY-SA 4.0 license; additional terms may apply.
Images, videos and audio are available under their respective licenses.