History
Existing law
Before the Abortion Legislation Act 2020, abortion was only decriminalised in New Zealand on certain grounds: to preserve the life of the woman (even if after 20 weeks), to preserve the physical health of the woman, to preserve the mental health of the woman, foetal impairment, and in cases of incest. The abortion also had to be authorised by two certifying consultants.
In practice, the law was interpreted liberally, [7] and the system in effect operated as elective abortion, [8] [9] with one in four women in New Zealand having had an abortion in her lifetime. [10] Almost all women had their abortion approved under the mental health ground. Politician David Seymour called the law a "charade" and commented "nobody believes that 97 per cent of women who have abortions are mentally ill"; while journalist Mark Sainsbury commented "the patients, the doctors, the politicians, just to play their part and, nod nod wink wink, it gets done". [11]
Background
On 5 August 2019, the Minister of Justice Andrew Little announced that the Labour-led coalition government would be introducing new legislation to decriminalise abortion and to allow women unrestricted access to abortion within the 20 week gestation period. The New Zealand Law Commission had proposed three options for abortion reform: having no statutory test to make sure the abortion was appropriate at any point; taking abortion off the Crimes Act but having a statutory test; or only having a test for later-term abortions, after 22 weeks. The Government adopted the third approach but reduced it to 20 weeks. [12] [13] [14] [15] While abortion-rights groups like the Abortion Law Reform Association of New Zealand (ALRANZ) and Family Planning have welcomed the proposed changes but criticized the 20 week limit, the Government's proposed abortion law reform was opposed by the conservative lobby group Family First New Zealand. [13] [16]
According to media reports, the ruling Labour Party and its coalition partner New Zealand First conducted months of negotiations on the proposed Abortion Legislation Bill. New Zealand First Member of Parliament and Minister of Children Tracey Martin, a supporter of abortion reform, played an active role in the negotiations. On 6 August 2019, NZ First leader and Deputy Prime Minister Winston Peters surprised both Martin and Labour by demanding a binding referendum on the Abortion Legislation Bill. The NZ First parliamentary caucus voted by a majority to support their leader's calls for a referendum. In response, Justice Minister Andrew Little ruled out support for a binding referendum on abortion, claiming that it had not been discussed during the negotiations. NZ First subsequently confirmed that it would support the Abortion Legislation Bill through its first and second readings while pushing for a referendum. [17] [18] [19] [20]
The opposition National Party leader Simon Bridges voiced his support for abortion reform but stated that more safeguards were needed. Voting for the Abortion Legislation Bill was conducted by a conscience vote, allowing MPs to vote individually on the bill. [21] Opposition National MP Amy Adams criticized NZ First's call for a referendum, saying that the matter should be decided by Parliament. [18]
First reading
On 8 August 2019, the New Zealand Parliament debated the Abortion Legislation Act for the first time. Several MPs commented that it is wrong that women had to lie to their doctors about their mental health in order to get an abortion under the existing law. [22] [23]
The bill passed by 94 votes against 23. It was then referred to the select committee stage. [24] Three National Party MPs were absent from the vote: Alfred Ngaro was overseas but had sent a proxy vote against the bill that was not cast; Hamish Walker had voted for the Bill but his vote was discounted under Parliament's rules because he had left the Debating Chamber before the votes were counted; and Jian Yang who had missed the vote, having intended to vote in favour. [25]
Select committee stage
Submissions for the Abortion Legislation Bill were held until 19 September 2019. Labour MP Ruth Dyson was designated Chairperson of the Abortion Legislation Committee. [26] Other Committee members have included Green MP Jan Logie, Labour MPs Priyanca Radhakrishnan and Anahila Kanongata'a-Suisuiki, and National MPs Nikki Kaye and Agnes Loheni. [27] By 9 October 2019, the Abortion Legislation Committee had received 25,000 written submissions from a range of legal and medical experts, religious groups, national organisations and ordinary people sharing personal experiences including Dr Alison Knowles, the Mental Health Foundation, and Family First. Due to the large volume, the Committee confirmed that it would be hearing 150 oral submissions out of the 2,890 who had opted to speak. Family First national director Bob McCoskrie criticized the select committee for excluding certain voices and rushing the process. In response, Dyson reiterated the committee's commitment to hearing a range of perspectives while remarking that "hearing the same thing over and over again doesn't add value to the committee at all." Submissions were held in Auckland on 8 October and scheduled for Christchurch on 11 October and Wellington on 15 October. [27] [28]
In 14 February 2020, the Select Committee delivered its report which called for safeguards to address sex selection, late-term abortions and to remove some barriers for women seeking abortions. Another recommendation was requiring a health professional approving abortion after 20 weeks to consult at least one other health professional before authorising an abortion. The definition for consultation was also widened to include Registered Nurses as well and qualified medical practitioners. [29] [30] [31] In addition, Loheni published a minority report criticizing 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. [29]
The New Zealand Medical Association welcomed the changes while Catholic bishops have claimed that the legislation infringes upon the legal rights of unborn children and threatens unborn babies with a fetal disability. [32] [33] Select Committee member Agnes Loheni, who was opposed to the legislation, proposed a supplementary order paper which would return the post 20 week criteria for abortion to where it currently stands under the Crimes Act. [34]
Second reading
On 3 March 2020, the Abortion Legislation Act passed its second reading, albeit by a narrower margin of 81 votes in favor and 39 votes opposed. [35] [36] [37] 35 organisations including Family Planning, the National Council of Women of New Zealand, the New Zealand College of Midwives, the New Zealand Nurses Organisation, the Mental Health Foundation of New Zealand, and Amnesty International Aotearoa NZ signed an open letter supporting the legislation. [38] [36] The anti-abortion group March for Life NZ used graphic images of aborted fetuses to express their opposition. [36] [39] 1300 people in families with Down syndrome subsequently signed an open letter to the Prime Minister calling on the Government to not introduce abortion up-to-birth for Down syndrome. [40]
Committee of the Whole House stage
The Committee of the Whole House stage began on 10 March 2020. On the first day of debate on Part 1, parliamentarians narrowly rejected, by 56–59, the first part of David Seymour's amendment to scrap "safe zones" from the Act. However, the second part of Seymour's amendment, which effectively scrapped the proposed "safe zones", was passed during a voting mix-up (but re-addressed in a later law, see § Safe access zone legislation). Parliament also adopted an amendment by Ruth Dyson dealing with conscientious objectors. In addition, Parliament considered but rejected several amendments including:
- Green Co-Leader Marama Davidson's amendment reducing penalties around safe zones and removing political involvement in their setting up (21–96);
- An amendment to remove all statutory tests for abortions up to birth (12–106);
- A supplementary order paper by National MP Parmjeet Parmar aiming to prevent gender-selective abortions failed; and
- An amendment by National MP Simon O'Connor requiring medical intervention of unintended live births after attempted termination (37–80). [41] [42] [43]
On 18 March, parliamentarians voted against holding a referendum on the abortion law changes by margin of 100 to 19. New Zealand First had proposed a referendum on the changes in return for supporting the passage of the legislation through Parliament. [44] [45] [46]
Third reading
On the evening of 18 March, the Abortion Legislation Act passed its third reading by a margin of 68 to 51. Green MP Marama Davidson attempted to reverse David Seymour's amendment eliminating safe zones around abortion clinics but MPs voted by a margin 77 to 43 against it. During the final reading, the bill's initiator Justice Minister Little argued that it would make significant changes to the country's abortion framework by eliminating abortion from the Crimes Act. Parliamentary Under-Secretary to the Justice Minister, Jan Logie, hailed the bill's passage as a victory for women having the freedom to make decisions about having a child. Abortion Legislation Committee's chair Ruth Dyson and National MP Amy Adams welcomed the bill's passage as long overdue for women's rights but expressed disappointment at the elimination of the safe zones around abortion clinics. [47] [48] [49] [4]
During the final reading, Labour List MP Kieran McAnulty spoke about his Catholic faith and being adopted as a child but supported women's reproductive rights. ACT Leader David Seymour expressed support for women's reproductive rights and eliminating abortion from the Crimes Act but defended his amendment to eliminate safe zones. Labour MP Marja Lubeck said that abortion was not a decision that women made lightly, describing the previous legislation as "archaic." [48] [4]
Several MPs opposed to the Abortion Legislation Act also made speeches during the final reading. National MP Agnes Loheni, a member of the Abortion Legislation Committee, described the bill as an "attack on our humanity." She highlighted the fact that 91.6% of the 25,000 submissions had opposed the bill. [48] [47] [49] [4] Labour MP Greg O'Connor expressed concerns that the Bill's Section 11 did not do enough to protect disabled infants while talking about his experiences as the father of a disabled child. National MP Simon O'Connor claimed that the bill did not afford rights and dignity to unborn children. Fellow National MP Andrew Bayly expressed concerns that the bill would allow minors to seek abortions without the knowledge of their parents and guardians. National MP Chris Penk disputed assertions that the previous abortion legislation criminalised women and claimed that the new bill would deny unborn children the right of protection under the law. [48]
Royal assent and entry into force
The Act was given the Royal assent on 23 March, [1] and came into force on 24 March.
