ALRANZ NEWSLETTER MAY 2007
ALRANZ News
Grateful thanks to two members from Christchurch who responded to the call in the February newsletter and have agreed to represent ALRANZ at National Council of Women (NCW) Christchurch Branch meetings, thereby restoring us to full status as a Nationally Organised Society within NCW.
Parliamentarians’ Group Report
ALRANZ was one of a number of advocacy groups invited to make an oral presentation at the NZ Parliamentarians’ Group on Population & Development (NZPPD) held at Parliament on Monday 4 December 2006. This was an Open Hearing on Youth Sexual & Reproductive Health chaired by Steve Chadwick MP.
The report on this meeting has now been published Youth Sexual Health: “Our Health, Our Issue” and is a useful document for anyone involved in youth sexual and reproductive health. The following are direct quotes from the section on Abortion.
In 2005 teenagers had an abortion rate of 25 per 1,000 women aged 15-19 years compared to 26 per 1,000 in 2004. The abortion rates per 1000 women are given in a graph which clearly shows the reduction for all women over the last two years.
“Several submissions noted that some young women face barriers in accessing abortions, such as doctors refusing to refer them and some District Health Boards not providing abortions. For example, Invercargill women must travel to Christchurch. The Tertiary Women’s Focus Group highlighted that free and unbiased counseling before and after abortion should be available.
Submissions also stated that there are lengthy delays between referral and termination. Medical abortion is available in only two publicly funded locations. As a result, large numbers of abortions are being carried out after eight weeks gestation; 7% of New Zealand terminations are in the first eight weeks compared with 77% in the Netherlands. The Abortion Law Reform Asociation of New Zealand submission argued that early medical abortions should be more widely available in New Zealand.”
The group made 20 recommendations. The first two are
(1) that the Ministry of Health must prioritise sexual and reproductive health, and it is essential that it becomes one of the key population health objectives of the New Zealand Health Strategy and
(2) that the Sexual Health and Reproductive Health Strategy and HIV/AIDS Action Plan must be fullly implemented and resourced.
Recommendation 13 relates specifically to abortion:
“Introduce a target to reduce the number of abortions being carried out in the second trimester, and make safe medical methods of abortion available as an option for women. Review the current legal framework (Contraception, Sterilisation, and Abortion Act 1977) particularly around clinical guidelines and licensed institutions, as there have been advances in abortion procedures since legislation was introduced.”
These words need to translate into action.
Abortion Supervisory Committee (ASC)
No decision has yet been made by Parliament on appointments to the new ASC following the recent resignations of Chairperson Dr Lesley Rothwell and Medical member Dr Papaarangi Reid. ALRANZ can only repeat the need for a review of the legislation and the role of the ASC in 2007.
The case against the ASC by Right To Life New Zealand is due to be heard again in the High Court this month. In his judgment released 21 December 2006 Associate Judge Gendall granted name suppression to the six women who were to give affidavits on their abortion experiences. However in the New Zealand Herald on 7 January 2007 one Maria Parsons age 47 from Canterbury tells her story about an abortion she had 13 years ago. She says that she couldn’t look at herself in the mirror for ten years and still cries every day for the unborn child she agreed to “kill”. The article is illustrated with a photo of a tearful Ms Parsons. She is reported as saying she is now an ardent anti-abortion lobbyist and hopes to tell her story to the High Court as Right to Life pursues a legal challenge over what it claims is flouting of the laws governing abortions. So much for name suppression.
ALRANZ has for many years pointed out the anomaly in our legislation (which could be easily rectified) that the grounds for abortions after 20 weeks do not include fetal abnormality. It was raised again recently by the NZ Down Syndrome Association in an article in the Sunday Star Times of April 1. President Margaret Sparrow responded with a letter to the editor:
“Twice in this article it is stated that the legal age limit for an abortion due to severe physical or mental disability is 20 weeks. This is true in that the only grounds after 20 weeks are to save the life of the mother or to prevent serious permanent injury to the physical or mental health of the mother. However the impression is given that this is a strict cut off point. This is not so. In 2005 there were 65 abortions over 20 weeks and another 21 abortions at 20 weeks. Many of these would have been done for reasons of fetal abnormality but because of the law they would have been done because of the abnormality impacting on the physical or mental health of the mother, rather than because of the fetal abnormality itself. To stop this pretence, Abortion Supervisory Committees over the years have recommended that Parliament change the law making fetal abnormality a legal ground for abortion after 20 weeks. Women facing a difficult decision about whether or not to continue their pregnancy should not be confronted with this legal dilemma.”
Safe Abortion Action Fund (SAAF)
In February 2006 the UK government started the SAAF with a grant of £3 million in response to an initiative by the International Planned Parenthood Federation (IPPF). The governments of Denmark, Norway, Sweden and Switzerland have also contributed bringing the Fund’s total resources to US$14.87 million over two years.
The fund is targeted to NGOs with programmes to reduce the number of maternal deaths from unsafe abortions. It is particularly directed towards marginalized and vulnerable women in the poorest countries. Nearly all unsafe abortions (97%) are in developing countries and the problems are greatest in those with restrictive abortion laws.
The fund was launched in September 2006 and is administeried by the IPPF through a Board which has in turn established a Technical Review Panel to assess applications. President Dr Margaret Sparrow has been appointed to the review panel and will be meeting with other panel members in London this month. Margaret says it will be a valuable learning experience. Frances Kissling recently retired after 25 years as President of Catholics for a Free Choice is another panelist.
New Zealand Research
Another paper has been published from the Christchurch Health and Development Study which in January 2007 gave us the much publicised study on mental health outcomes. This time the title is “Abortion among Young Women and Subsequent Life Outcomes” and the focus is on education, income, welfare dependence and domestic violence. The study found that choosing abortion is associated with better outcomes however the differences were largely explained by the fact that those who had an abortion were a more socially and educationally advantaged group prior to pregnancy. Professor David Fergusson the executive director of the study conceded that it is a small study and therefore needs validating by more research. Of the 125 women pregnant before 21 years, 48 had an abortion and 77 had continued the pregnancy.
The previous study on mental health outcomes has continued to receive attention. Mike Lloyd a senior lecturer in sociology at Victoria University of Wellington has contributed to the debate with an article entitled “Linking Abortion and Mental Health: What Does a Difference Mean?” published in New Zealand Sociology Vol 22, No 1, 2007. He argues that while the study shows differences in mental health measures between women who had abortions and those who did not, the differences have not been clarified by this research. The methodology of using questionnaires by non-clinical interviewers has serious limitations when considering such a personal and complex issue as abortion so the answer to the question posed in the title of his article is “Not much.”
Film Review
“Rosita” is a must see at the International Human Rights Film Festival touring the main centres in May. Readers of past ALRANZ newsletters (March 2003 and July 2003) will remember the tragic story of a 9-year old Nicaraguan girl who became pregnant after being raped. She was the only child of illiterate Costa Rican migrants and her parents wanted her to have an abortion which at the time was illegal in Nicaragua unless the mother’s life was in danger. There were harrowing battles with the church, the state and the medical profession. Respecting her parents’ wishes Rosita is not shown in the film but her presence is felt throughout. The documentary is 58 minutes long.
Since Rosita’s story things have gone from bad to worse in Nicaragua. In October 2006 all abortions were outlawed, including operations to save a woman’s life. In November 2006 an 18-year old died when doctors failed to intervene because of the ban on abortions. This is not covered in the documentary.
By the time you read this newsletter the Auckland Festival will have already started but here are the details for other showings:
Auckland (Academy Cinema, under Auckland City Library) Tuesday 8 May at 3pm.
Wellington (Paramount) Friday 11 May at 6pm and Monday 14 May at 6pm.
Christchurch (Regent on Worcester) Sunday 21 May at 5.30pm.
Book Review
“Sir Jack Harris Bt: Memoirs of a Century” by Sir Jack Harris 2007; Wellington: Steele Roberts. ISBN 978-1-877448-04-1
At the age of 100 years, Sir Jack has told his life story from his early years in London and Cambridge and his trip to New Zealand in 1929 to manage the family firm of Bing Harris. On board ship he met his wife Patricia who later became Patron of ALRANZ. Although the focus in the book is on the business world Lady Harris also features and before her death she wrote of their life at Te Rama, the homestead at Waikanae which was burnt in a fire in 1996 destroying all their belongings including treasured collections of books and art. As an appendix to the book Sir Jack has reprinted the obituary to his wife, published in The Dominion Post of 6 March 2003.
Changes in Parliament
Lesley Soper (52) has replaced Georgina Beyer as Labour List MP. She entered Parliament briefly as the List replacement for Jonathan Hunt when he retired to become NZ High Commissioner in 2005. She trained as a librarian and is a feminist and unionist. She was elected to the Southland District Health Board 2000-2004. She is married with two step-sons and her home base is Invercargill.
Katrina Shanks (38) has replaced Don Brash as National List MP. She is a Wellington based accountant and mother of three who almost won the Ohariu-Belmont seat at the last election until special votes were counted.
Abortion and breast cancer
Another study was published in the Archives of Internal Medicine on 23 April 2007 confirming that neither induced abortion nor natural miscarriage increase the risk of developing breast cancer. 105,716 healthy women who were participating in the large Nurses Health Study in the USA answered questions every two years on a range of health issues. No link was found by the Harvard researchers who analysed the data but anti-abortionists still persist in claiming that it does. ALRANZ has lodged a complaint about misleading advertising by Voice for Life on this very topic.
Amnesty International (AI)
The 2007 AGM of AI UK confirmed the 2006 decision that AI support decriminalisation of abortion, access to quality services for the management of complications arising from abortion, and legal, safe and acessible abortion, subject to reasonable limitations, in cases of rape, sexual assault, incest and risk to a woman’s life. The AGM voted against a broader motion that would have supported access to legal and safe abortion, subject to reasonable limitations.
Members voted in favour of AI remaining ‘neutral’ on abortion i.e. take no position on the rights or wrongs of abortion which it sees as a matter of personal choice. The aim of any policy would be to help AI address human rights abuses such as rape and sexual violence in the Congo and Darfur and imprisonment and sentencing to death of women in Nigeria. The issue will come up at the AI International Council meeting in Mexico in August.
AI NZ will be holding their annual meeting in Auckland 4-6 May 2007.
Abstinence only education
A USA government report found that abstinence-only education programs meant to teach children to avoid sex until marriage, fail to control their sexual behaviour. Teenagers who took part in the programmes were just as likely to have sex as those who did not. Interestingly and contrary to other research, both groups were just as likely to use condoms or birth control. 1200 students in four programmes were followed for 4-6 years and compared to a control group. The report has opened up the debate on the Bush administration’s funding of abstinence-only education programmes.
Another study published in the American Journal of Public Health evaluated the contribution of abstinence and improved contraceptive use to explain the recent declines in adolescent pregnancy in the USA. They estimated that 14% of the change observed among 15-19-year olds was attributable to a decrease in the sexual activity of young women and 86% was due to changes in contraceptive use.
The “purity movement” which extols the virtues of modesty, femininity and chastity is being imported to NZ from the USA. Wellington doctor, Dr Ate Moala supported by Elim Church and the Christian group Focus on the Family, recently ran a “Purely Girls!” camp for college age girls in the school holidays.
Other overseas News
Australia
The government funded 24-hour telephone abortion counselling service commenced on 1 May and concerns about privacy persist. Women’s calls will be recorded and their medical records held for seven years.
A multi-party new Bill the Pregnancy Counselling (Truth in Advertising) Bill addresses the problem of women getting misleading information from anti-abortion sources.
USA
The Supreme Court on 18 April 2007 ruled 5-4 to reinstate a 2003 federal law signed by President Bush, banning so-called “partial-birth” abortion, otherwise termed D&X (extraction) or D&E (evacuation). This decision overturned the rulings of three appeals courts and is a significant though not unexpected defeat for the pro-choice lobby. Bush’s two appointees, Chief Justice John Roberts and Justice Samuel Alito sided with the majority. The only woman Justice Ruth Bader Ginsburg wrote in dissent calling the decision alarming. She said “It tolerates, indeed applauds, federal intervention to ban nationwide a procedure found necessary and proper in certain cases by the American College of Obstetricians and Gynecologists.”
No exception was made for protecting a woman’s health only a threat to a woman’s life. Doctors consider this distinction fraught with difficulties. The penalty is two years in prison or a fine of up to $250,000. The judgment opens the way for states to introduce bans on late-term abortions but will not affect the 90% of abortions which are done before 12 weeks.
Portugal
On 11 February 2007 voters approved the liberalisation of Portugal’s strict abortion laws, in favour of the right to terminate a pregnancy within the first 10 weeks. Parliament approved a new law in March and in April it was endorsed by the Catholic President, albeit with reservations. The government now has 60 days to implement the new law. Services are required to replace the estimated 23,000 clandestine abortions that take place each year.
Poland
The European Court of Human Rights in Strasbourg has awarded a Polish woman 25,000 Euros in damages after she was refused an abortion. Alicja Tysiac’s eyesight worsened drastically after she had her third baby. The 35-year-old mother was refused an abortion despite warnings that having a baby could make her go blind. The court ruled that the mother’s rights had been violated when she was denied an abortion on therapeutic grounds. The monetary award is welcome compensation for the disabled single mother struggling to raise her three children on a pension.
Mexico City
Mexico City’s legislative assembly voted to legalise abortion in the city. Lawmakers voted 46 to 19 in favour of a law that will permit abortions in the first 12 weeks of pregnancy. Previously abortions were only allowed in cases of rape, if the woman’s life was at risk, or if there was a diagnosis of severe fetal abnormality. Mexico City has a population of 8.7 Million and is predominantly Catholic. Pope Benedict issued a letter urging Mexican bishops to oppose the bill and riot police had to keep rival protesters apart during demonstrations. Strict laws will be maintained in the rest of the country and an influx of patients into Mexico City is predicted.
India
Female births are decreasing in India as sales of ultrasound machines are increasing. The 1994 law banning sex-selective abortion has been ineffective. Authorities say that this situation will not change until girls are no longer seen as a burden on the family requiring an expensive dowry.