Abortion Law Reform Association of New Zealand
MEDIA RELEASE
7 July 2016
MPs MAKE THE RIGHT DECISION: UNDER 16s WON’T BE FORCED TO TELL PARENTS ABOUT ABORTIONS
Young people in New Zealand will not be obliged to tell their parents if they are having an abortion – and the Abortion Law Reform Association of New Zealand says that’s the right decision.
The Justice and Electoral Select Committee considered a petition from Hillary Kieft, who asked for mandatory parental notification for people under 16 seeking abortions. (The committee’s report is available here.)
MPs considered a range of submissions and chose to focus on the needs of young people confronting an unwanted pregnancy.
“We are relieved the year-long, drawn-out process the Select Committee has engaged in has resulted in a decision that does not punish the most vulnerable teens,” ALRANZ president Terry Bellamak says.
“Any young person having an abortion should ideally have the full support of their parents – but in some cases, that can put them at risk.
“Mandatory reporting would increase the fear and stress on young people who are already in a vulnerable position.”
The committee noted the current presumption that health agencies will make the information available to parents, unless the young person asks them not to do so.
They also noted that only about 60 abortions a year are performed on people under 16 – and of those, fewer than 10 choose not to tell their parents.
“It is important to make sure support is available to these young people, and we welcome the Committee’s recommendations around offering counselling, strengthening oversight and guidelines,” Ms Bellamak says.
“We agree there is a need for best-practice guidelines to be drawn up, and that young people who choose not to inform their parents should be treated with special care.
“But we also believe those best-practice guidelines should be prepared for all people seeking abortions, because New Zealand’s abortion laws are still outdated and treat abortion as a crime – not a health issue.”
For more information, contact:
info@alranz.org
Terry, I find it disturbing that you are still using incorrect figures to support your argument after you acknowledged you understated the number of underage abortions in 2015. If you had been following the debate in the media you would have heard that the figures that the Select Committee’s figure where ever that came from were wrong.
In 2013 there were 163 underage abortions and in 2014 there were 160 underage abortions. The is well over the 60 that you have quoted for a bad source. The link to my source is below.
https://www.familyfirst.org.nz/wp-content/uploads/2016/07/Abortions-11-19-2000-2014-ASC-OIA-Response.pdf
I think lobbyists are entitled to their own opinions but not their own facts.
As you note, the media release quotes from the select committee report, and attributes the number to that report. (The Family First document you link to suggests the number for 2014 was 150.) Our position on the need for privacy rights for pregnant teenagers is not dependent on numbers. This numbers debate is now closed; thank you for your input. — Alranz Blog Editor