THE ALRANZ BLOG
Our latest thoughts and opinions on abortion laws, law reform, trends and controversies; national and international..
The Wake Up Call
Hey folks, Those were some great poll numbers we had this morning from the University of Auckland. But, as the history of reproductive rights in Aotearoa has shown, popular will is not the deciding factor. Back in the 1970’s most people wanted an abortion law that was...
A Different Take on Alabama
by Terry Bellamak Right-wing American states, especially those in the Deep South, seem to be vying to see who can trash women’s human right to bodily autonomy the most. Georgia has passed legislation that purports to criminalise Georgians who receive abortion care...
Still Waiting.
The Labour coalition has been in government for 18 months now. Half its term is now in the past. And abortion care is still in the Crimes Act. This government has done more and gone farther than any previous government to fix the travesty of our abortion care system....
Get Up, Stand Up
by Terry Bellamak After the Christchurch terrorist attacks, a lot of us are feeling vulnerable. Muslims, immigrants, people of colour, people with disabilities, nonbinary and gender diverse people, and women have all been shaken by the inescapable reality that hatred...
For IWD 2019, Abort the Stigma
by Terry Bellamak Another International Women’s Day comes and goes, and New Zealand women still don’t have the freedom to decide for themselves whether or not to receive abortion care. In the land of Kate Sheppard and Suffrage 1893, women are still not treated as...
Reproductive Coercion
by Terry Bellamak Now that New Zealand is finally discussing abortion law reform, some folk are raising concerns about people being forced to get abortions they don’t want, also known as reproductive coercion. This is a favourite talking point for anti-choice folk....
The Effects of Decriminalising Abortion
by Terry Bellamak New Zealand is finally discussing abortion law reform. One of the first items of business on the government’s agenda is taking abortion out of the Crimes Act. This promises to make abortion easier to access, reduce delays, and reduce the unwarranted...
2019, Here We Come
by Terry Bellamak 2018 was a big, amazing year for ALRANZ. We all saw Ireland amend their constitution to allow the Oireachtas to legislate to allow abortion. We got a preview of terrible amendments to watch out for as we progress our own law reform process,...
ALRANZ and the Transgender Community
Recently, the ALRANZ Executive Committee received questions regarding where we stand on the inclusion of transgender and non-binary people in reproductive rights activism. With this in mind, we’re happy to clarify that our policy is one of inclusiveness of trans and...
Safe Access Zones, Please
Students from Wellington Girls College have started a petition calling for safe access zones around Wellington Hospital, to prevent harassment by anti-choice protesters. In a TVNZ article about it, a law professor says: [T]he real issue here, of course, is that...