Differing views expressed on abortion law reform

Press, Volume CXIV, Issue 33532, 13 May 1974, Page 6

Differing views expressed on abortion law reform

(N.Z. Press Association —Copyright)

AUCKLAND. May 12.

The Abortion Law Reform Association has been asked to prepare draft legislation on abortion laws for consideration by the Parliamentary Select Committee on Women’s Rights.

At hearings in Auckland, Mr David Thomson suggested that the association should have made specific recommendations on the changes it would like to see introduced into abortion law. Mr Thomson said that with the legal and medical advice the association represented, it would be well qualified to draft a new law “so the committee can compare the present law with the proposed The association agreed to prepare a draft law for subI mission to the committee. In its recommendations, ’ the association called for pregnancies to be terminated in the first three months by the decision of the woman and her doctor.

In the second threp months abortions should be regulated to safeguard the woman’s health, and ’ they should not be performed after six months of pregnancy.

Public hospitals should be instructed to discontinue the practice of using abortion committees, and contraceptives should be placed on the Social Security free , medical list, the association I said.

The Society for the Pro-

tection of the Unborn Child said that if the Government was to accede to current vociferous demands to repeal the Abortion Law it would mean in effect withdrawing its protection from the child. The society called for an education campaign oh the hazards of abortion, and support for mothers and pregnant women in maternity care, social security ■ benefits, taxation concessions, children’s medical and . educational expenses, child care centres, housing assistance, and career and educational help for unmarried mothers. Childbearing was the essence of marriage, Dr H. P. Dunn said in submissions for the Family Rights Association.

“It would be pathological if normal couples without some serious medical, genetic, financial or social reasons were to opt out of it.” Some specific value should be placed on women’s services as wives and mothers, as women had the right to financial independence, the association stated. “The family unit should be helped by further increasing the family benefit, by restoring the income tax deduction for dependent children, and

1 making all health and educa-; tional expenses deductible” i ■ the association said. Compulsory sex education was not for New Zealand, and the provisions of the Police Offences Act forbidding 1 contraceptive advice to ■ children under the age of 16 should be strictly enforced. Abortion was not a ’ woman’s right, and ideally should never be performed, I Dr Dunn said. The submissions stated J that the association wanted I a pledge that “homosexual ' activities will not be taught in schools.”