Did you know that New Zealand's abortion laws are draconian?
Its not an adjective that I had associated with our current abortion laws until I read this mornings Herald where Chris Barton discusses the back and forthing between various courts of Right to Life's case that the current law is being mis-interpreted in a way that makes Abortion on demand the de-facto status quo.
There were 18,380 abortions in New Zealand in 2007. The rate (20.1 abortions per 1000 women in the 15-44 age group) is high compared to other countries, putting us on a par with Australia, the United States and Sweden.Initially I thought this must be a bit hyberbole from a Herald journalist but on reflection the law as interpreted today is indeed draconian.
Unlike those countries, we have what has been described as "one of the most restrictive pieces of abortion legislation in the Western world" - contained in the Crimes Act and the Contraception, Sterilisation and Abortion Act passed in 1977.
Yet despite our draconian law - abortion is a crime unless it is authorised by two certifying consultants - we have one of the highest abortion rates in the world. What gives?
In the opening paragraph we read of 18,350 abortions performed in 2007. By way of comparison there were 64,040 live births in that year. Which means that over 1/ 5 of all New Zealand babies are slaughtered by dismemberment before taking a breath of God's good air.
So I suppose "draconian" is a valid descriptive of our laws.
I am so saddened that those who can be heard are considered above those that cannot be heard in our society. So selfish.
ReplyDelete"Which means that over 1/ 5 of all New Zealand babies are slaughtered by dismemberment before taking a breath of God's good air."
ReplyDeleteYou would have to factor in miscarriages before arriving at one in five. By your reckoning, they were babies too.
Pregnancies are very tenuous things. Many conceptions do not go full term. Sexually active females are more attuned to this than men. It is perhaps for that reason a decision to abort in the very early stages of pregnancy is not as gut-wrenching as some expect or demand it should be. Add to this that most women will have as many or few children as they want. An abortion will often lead to a later, wanted, pregnancy carried full-term. I am not a fan of abortion but will always come down on the side of the female's right to choose.
Unless off course the female happens to be the unborn baby, then those females become less equal and shouldn't be given any choice because the more equal female decides so.
ReplyDelete