Palmer rules out abortion law change

Press, 6 October 1988, Page 3

Palmer rules out abortion law change

OLIVER RIDDELL

By

at Parliament

The Labour Government is finding it hard to implement its 1987 election promise on abortion. In the manifesto Labour said it would “repeal where necessary, amend and initiate appropriate legislation to ensure that all New Zealand women have access to safe, free, elective abortion.” It added that any legislation on abortion would be subject to a conscience vote in Parliament. Since then women’s lobby groups have been talking to Labour’s women’s caucus in Parliament about how this promise could be honoured. One group, the Women’s National Abortion Action Campaign, said it had been assured changes to the abortion laws would be addressed when the Crimes Act was reviewed. However, a spokesman for the Minister of Justice, Mr Palmer, said it was not planned to cover abortion in the new Crimes Act when it was

introduced in Parliament. In its annual report tabled in Parliament this week, the Abortion Supervisory Committee recommended that the Contraception, Sterilisation and Abortion Act, 1977, together with section 187 A of the Crimes Act, 1961, be reviewed. In its manifesto Labour also promised to “provide publicly funded facilities for counselling and abortion on an equitable basis through the country.” The Labour women members of Parliament have said they are not prepared to proceed with a private member’s bill in Parliament to change the abortion laws. Ms Elizabeth Tennet (Lab., Island Bay) has said the women members intended to work behind the scenes to achieve changes on abortion issues. The action campaign plans to hold Labour accountable to its election promise now that Mr Palmer does not intend his revised Crimes Act to be the vehicle for abortion reform.