No support for Abortion Bill

Mana (Auckland), Volume 1, Issue 8, 13 October 1977, Page 3

No support for Abortion Bill

The New Zealand Maori Council does not support the stand taken by the Report of the Royal Commission on Contraception, Sterilisation and Abortion, that a standard of health less than that defined by the World Health Organisation should be accepted as the standard of health that will determine the criteria for legal terminations of pregnancy. The chronic unsatisfactory state of Maori health will not be improved by the acceptance of lesser standards of health. There is no reason to believe that the confirmation of the restrictive criteria for the termination of pregnancy will contribute to the improvement of Maori health. The New Zealand Maori Council recommends that extremes of age, rape and socio economic factors should be accepted as criteria for the termination of pregnancy.

The Panel system and the restrictive criteria are seen as creating unnecessary stresses in an already stressed situation.

There is no support for

Abortion on demand but only after direct counselling and recommendation by the patient’s family doctor, and the acceptance of that recommendation by the Gynaecologist surgeon or

clinic involved

Requests for abortion that pass these criteria should be freely available in our Public Hospitals that have the requisite specialised facilities available.