New Zealand Turns Their Back on the Unborn by Decriminalizing Abortion
Jose Nino
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On Wednesday, March 18, 2020, New Zealand decriminalized abortion.
“It’s been a long time coming,” said Margaret Sparrow, a doctor who dedicated her life to championing for looser abortion laws.
Until the passage of this bill on Wednesday, the procedure was still subject to regulations under the Crimes Act, which requires women to demonstrate to a doctor that their pregnancy poses a danger to their physical or mental health before going through an abortion.
According to Justice Minister Andrew Little, this requirement compelled most women to lie about their mental health and caused unnecessary delays that could have brought further health risks.
The new law removes those restrictions, allowing women who are 20 weeks into a pregnancy to undergo an abortion. Women over 20 weeks into a pregnancy have to get approval from a health practitioner.
Lawmakers voted 68 to 51 in support of the bill.
Conservative lawmaker Simeon Brown was in opposition to the bill. He believes an unborn child had a heartbeat and felt pain, thus should be considered as a person that merits dignity, respect, and protection under the law.
Jackie Edmond, the chief executive of Family Planning, New Zealand’s largest abortion vendor, said she was delighted with the vote.
“It’s fantastic Parliament has addressed something that they should have addressed 40 years ago,” Edmond declared.
With the election of Prime Minister Jacinda Ardern in 2017, New Zealand has taken a radical turn to the Left on issues like guns and now abortion.
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