Our kaupapa / principles

ALRANZ Abortion Rights Aotearoa, is a national pro-choice advocacy group for abortion rights.  We believe everyone has a fundamental human right to sexual and bodily autonomy. This includes the right to decide whether or when to become a parent, to parent the children we have, and to do so with dignity and support

Abortion is a human right. 

The choice to end a pregnancy, for whatever reason, is a  human right.

Anyone should have the right and means to make their own decisions about their bodies and futures, including whether to continue or end a pregnancy.

Abortion is healthcare

Everyone has the right to receive the medical care that they need.

Access to quality comprehensive reproductive health care is needed by people of all genders (women and men, as well as gender-diverse individuals) and sexual identities (takatapui, bisexual, gay, or straight). 

Comprehensive sexual and reproductive healthcare must include abortion and contraception. This is important for

  • cis women, whose reproductive capacity has been used to exclude and discriminate against them;
  • lesbian and bisexual women, who are often overlooked in this area; and
  • transgender men, intersex, nonbinary and gender non-conforming individuals, who can also get pregnant.

The government has a duty to maintain a supportive environment in which these rights can be exercised.

What ALRANZ does

For four decades, we fought for law reform: for abortion to be treated as a health issue rather than a criminal matter. Legal reform was achieved in 2020, but we still have work to protect our rights in this space and ensure access.

Lobbying – The current law still has some issues, especially, in relation to conscientious objection by medical professionals and public harrassment of those accessing abortion services.

Watchdog / Advocacy – Despite widespread acceptance of the right to choose abortion, there is also stigma, misinformation and anti-abortion lobbying. After witnessing the rolling back of abortion rights in other countries (USA, Poland, and others) we will remain vigilant to ensure that this does not happen in our country, wether directly (through legal changes) or indirectly (through reduced funding and other impedimants to service delivery).

Monitoring – There are gaps accross the country in terms of who can access abortion care and the kinds of care they receive. Steps are being made by the government to address this and we will continues to ensure that this is addressed. We will monitor service delivery and advocate for any changes needed to ensure access to quality comprehensive sexual and reproductive healthcare, including abortion and contraceptive care for all.