Today is Ash Wednesday, when the annual 40 Days for Life anti-abortion campaign kicks off. This year, explains ALRANZ president Terry Bellamak, the pro-choice counter-protest has a new focus: breaking the silence. A large majority of New Zealanders trust women and pregnant people to decide for themselves whether to receive abortion care. Only the people … Read more
A group of doctors are fighting as ‘conscientious objectors’ on abortion, and the NZ Medical Association is in their corner. Emily Writes is not impressed. This week, a group of doctors in New Zealand said they would “fight” for the right to not provide advice to pregnant women. It is, as I see it, part of … Read more
Ahead of Wednesday’s March for Reproductive Rights in Wellington, four people weigh in on why they’ll be supporting the march and what they hope to see from the national discussion around abortion rights. ALRANZ supports Model A by Terry Bellamak, national president of ALRANZ Abortion Rights Aotearoa By now, most New Zealanders are familiar with … Read more
Good morning, and welcome to The Bulletin. In today’s edition: Fallout begins immediately from review into parliamentary bullying, a phenomenal piece of mental health journalism featured, and National’s polling bounces back. Has Trevor Mallard opened the door on something that will get out of control? We talked a bit about this last week, but things have moved … Read more
Family Planning chief executive Jackie Edmond debunks some of the myths and misinformation around abortion law reform in New Zealand and the changes proposed by the Law Commission. It’s important to have accurate information to decide how you feel about changing the law on abortion. The problem is, that isn’t always possible online. At Family … Read more
Good morning, and welcome to The Bulletin. In today’s edition: Report puts abortion law reform back on the agenda, housing shortage likely to worsen despite Kiwibuild, and are the Taxcinda attacks on Labour fair? A Law Commission report has put abortion law reform firmly back on the agenda. The report outlines three potential approaches to reform, based on the … Read more
The Law Commission has just released its briefing paper on abortion, looking at alternative approaches to New Zealand’s current law. Family Planning CEO Jackie Edmond explains what these options are. The Ministry of Justice is currently reviewing our abortion laws. In his letter to the Law Commission, charged with reviewing options should the law be … Read more
Good morning, and welcome to The Bulletin. In today’s edition: Anger rises along with petrol prices, abortion rights group claims law discriminates against women, and fury at govt’s encouragement of water bottling company. There’s a significant amount of anger out there at high petrol prices, as shown by the planned buying boycott for October 26. A facebook event around … Read more
In New Zealand, some people think we have it pretty good when it comes to abortion access. But with abortion still in the Crimes Act and other people getting to decide whether pregnant people can terminate, we really have no reason to feel safe. Abortion Law Reform New Zealand president Terry Bellamak writes. Tomorrow is … Read more
Good morning, and welcome to The Bulletin. In today’s edition: A new medical cannabis bill has hit the member’s ballot, abortion on the agenda on Parliament’s forecourt, and justice minister Andrew Little’s message to Australia. There will be competing bills on medical marijuana, after National MP Dr Shane Reti released his own in opposition to the … Read more
Spinoff Parents editor Emily Writes popped over to Parliament with her fellow short-haired feminist contingent to see what a silent bootie protest looks like. There it was, rows and rows of death booties. A strange cult of people who are all about forced impregnation have been in a frenzy knitting booties and the results of … Read more
Yes, anti-abortionists should have the right to protest. No, they shouldn’t be allowed to bully, intimidate or harass people accessing abortion services, writes Amy Pearl. Update, October 2018: A parliamentary petition is seeking to establish a no-protest buffer zone surrounding Wellington Hospital to protect people seeking abortions from harassment. The petition closes on October 26. … Read more
They might have rebranded, they want us to know they’ve changed. And yet the party now known as New Conservative say they have the same values as when they were just the Conservatives. Is there any chance they’ll be taken seriously? The most important thing to get across about the New Conservative Party is that … Read more
Listen to Alex Casey, Leonie Hayden and Michele A’Court tackle the past month in women, news and popular culture, with thanks to our friends at The Women’s Bookshop. This month on On the Rag, we celebrate Ireland’s resounding Yes vote to repeal the amendment outlawing abortion, and look at the current state of things in New … Read more
Good morning, and welcome to The Bulletin. In today’s edition: Major changes recommended to NCEA system, new poll has bad news for almost everyone, and two significant announcements will be made today. Huge changes have been recommended to the NCEA system by a review, reports Stuff. In particular, the changes would significantly lower the burden on students … Read more
Ireland appears to have delivered a landslide victory for the repeal of the amendment outlawing abortion. It show it is time for the state to trust women to make that choice for ourselves, writes Irish New Zealander Noelle McCarthy We thought it would be close. The outcome of yesterday’s vote on whether or not to … Read more
Many Spinoff Parents readers have asked how to make a submission on abortion law reform in New Zealand. We asked national president of ALRANZ Abortion Rights Aotearoa Terry Bellamak to write a guide for us. During the election campaign last year Prime Minister Jacinda Ardern promised to reform New Zealand’s abortion laws. Her government appears … Read more
With the announcement that Labour is moving towards abortion law reform, New Zealand is gearing up to talk about a topic that makes a lot of people uncomfortable. So how can we acknowledge and move past the discomfort towards a law that works? In case you didn’t realise, abortion is still in the Crimes Act. … Read more
While you are reading this a mother somewhere in the country is making the heartbreaking decision to terminate a wanted pregnancy. Continuing our series of real stories of abortion, one mother shares what it’s like to have a termination for medical reasons. This post discusses abortion of a wanted pregnancy – there is support available … Read more
Black Sheep is a Radio NZ series about the shady, controversial and sometimes downright villainous characters of New Zealand history, presented by William Ray. Here he introduces the story of Isabel “Annie’ Aves, the backstreet abortionist whose life ended in violence. Content Warning: This article deals with abortion and infanticide. Some may find it distressing. … Read more
The landslide victory for abortion legalisation in Ireland has reignited calls for abortion to be removed from the Crimes Act here. In this post first published in September 2017, long-time reproductive health campaigner Dame Margaret Sparrow gives 16 reasons the laws need to change. 16 REASONS TO CHANGE THE ABORTION LAWS 1. They are expensive. … Read more
Australian feminist author Clementine Ford is in town this week for Shifting Points Of View at WORD Christchurch. Leonie Hayden talked to her about feminist parenting, the power of the Twitter thread and how to start a revolution on your own. Golden Girl Betty White once questioned why people say ‘grow some balls’. “Balls are … Read more
More than 13,000 abortions were performed in New Zealand last year. Despite this, abortion in this country is enshrined in the Crimes Act. Jessica Hammond Doube doesn’t think it should be, and she’s doing her best to do something about it. The kaupapa of The Spinoff Parents is to uplift, love, and support parents – … Read more
In 1961, the ‘Pill’ became available in New Zealand and women’s lives were changed forever. Being able to control your fertility was now a matter of choice. But not everyone was judged worthy of making that choice. This story was first published on radionz.co.nz. Carol’s Story In 1966 “Carol” was young, single, sexually active and in … Read more
Would witnessing terminations change your view on abortion? Student midwife Lucy Kelly explains how an abortion clinic placement made her rethink her assumptions about women who end their pregnancies. Every single day of my work and study involves seeing new life, and celebrating new life with families. My studies, my degree, my career, and my purpose … Read more
Is the daily anti-abortion vigil for Lent a peaceful, prayer-focused protest, or is it more intimidating than that? Alex Braae reports. Every day when staff from the Auckland Medical Aid Centre go to work they are stared at. Across the road a rotating group of people wait for them in the morning and they’re still … Read more
Hundreds of NZ women are told every year that their request for an abortion is ‘not justified’. One woman describes the response she encountered, and why she feels betrayed by a system that continues to view women seeking termination through a lens of criminality Are you not with the father? Were you ever together? Had … Read more
More than 13,000 abortions were performed in New Zealand last year, yet the reasons why women have one remain largely hidden. One reason for the secrecy: the stigma of abortion, exacerbated by its inclusion in the Crimes Act. Here one anonymous mother explains why an abortion was the right choice for her. Why are we … Read more
If you view the comments on almost any story on abortion in New Zealand you’ll see assumptions being made about the process by people who haven’t accessed the procedure. Sarah Batkin spoke to four women about their terminations to show the varied experiences people go through in our country. I went to a symposium last … Read more