‘Abortion law needs review’

Press, 31 December 1982, Page 14

‘Abortion law needs review’

PA New Plymouth An urgent review: of all legislation regulating abortion- in New Zealand has been urged by a New Plymouth pediatrician, Dr Melvyn Wall. The Court of Appeal last week dismissed Dr Wall’s appeal against a High Court refusal to allow an injunction to stop an abortion for a teen-age girl. Dr Wall had alleged bad faith on the. part of two doctors in their capacity as certifying consultants under

the Contraception, Sterilisation, and Abortion Act. who had certified that termination of ■ pregnancy should take place. " The - Court of Appeal appeared to have confirmed that in practice there was no law which restricted abortion, Dr Wall has said. The whole matter should be urgently reviewed by Parliament as the New Zealand public would not tolerate what had now been patently revealed as a situation of abortion on demand, he

said. The status and rights of the unborn child which entitled it to preservation and protection in most circumstances had effectively been declared - illusory or essentially non-existent by the Court of Appeal decision, Dr Wall said. “In fact, in virtually all circumstances these rights do give way to the wishes of the mother to have an abortion and the decision to allow that abortion is left to tw'o doctors.

“The Court has thus placed

them above the law since; there is no-one who can' effectively dispute their deci-;', sions . regarding the reasons' stated and the manner in? which they , were deter-: mined," Dr Wall said. ; “Dowe want a situation of>. abortion on demand as has) existed for a long time under, the now-shattered law?” ? Dr Wall said that he would meet his legal advisers next' month to discuss any further action he could take on the. issue.