Study of abortion reasons sought

Press, 16 July 1982, Page 4

Study of abortion reasons sought

A study about why women were having abortions should be undertaken by the North Canterbury Hospital Board if it was “genuinely concerned” about the increasing number of abortions, said the Canterbury president of the Society for the Protection of the Unborn Child, Mr Eugene Aynsley, yesterday. He was commenting on concern expressed earlier this week by board members about the pressure put on staff at Christchurch Women’s Hospital because of the number of abortions being performed there. Mr Aynsley said that a study could show. that the majority of abortions were

arranged because of “vague social and mental health reasons rather than sound medical reasons.” “It is ridiculous that the

medical services should be so hamstrung for cash, and yet incredible sums of money are being spent on what Mr C. M. Sisson (a board member) said was a social issue rather than a medical one,” he said. If the certifying consultants, who evaluated the need or otherwise of an abortion, worked within the terms of the Contraception, Sterilisation, and Abortion Act, the board “would have this frightening situation removed,” said Mr Aynsley. “We now have an abortion-on-demand situation which is not what was intended when the act was legislated,” he said.

Overseas experiences had shown that the number of abortions increased in relation to the availability of abortion facilities.