The Nathaniel Centre

Abortion Law Reform and the State’s Interest in Protecting Unborn Life [SYNOPSIS ONLY]

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Category: Bioethics at the Beginning of Life

Created on Thursday, 01 November 2018 02:37

Last updated on Monday, 30 November -0001 00:00

Published on Thursday, 01 November 2018 02:37

Written by Super User

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Ian Bassett

In the wake of the current debate about abortion laws, Ian Bassett briefly outlines the legal history surrounding the protection of human life in all its forms – from our tradition of English common law through to more recent statements by the New Zealand judiciary. The long-standing protection of life is put at risk by the latest moves to remove abortion from the Crimes Act. The gravity of what is being proposed should initiate a broad and informed public debate. 

The full article is available by subscription to The Nathaniel Report

Abortion Trauma, Grief and Healing

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Category: Bioethics at the Beginning of Life

Created on Thursday, 07 September 2017 04:15

Last updated on Monday, 10 September 2018 03:42

Published on Thursday, 07 September 2017 04:15

Written by Super User

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It is argued by some that the politics surrounding abortion have contributed to the lack of consensus in in the literature regarding post-abortion experiences, in particular whether some women’s subsequent mental health struggles were connected to other factors in their lives rather than their experience of having an abortion (see Dawn de Witt, Issue 51 of The Nathaniel Report).

One of the risks of denying post-abortion trauma is that it can add to the shame and stigma women might already experience and it can leave them with unacknowledged grief, a grief they may be told or may feel, is unreal. “At present health professionals are not being trained to diagnose, treat or prevent abortion trauma, and are generally reluctant to investigate when problems arise subsequent to an abortion, offering at best, symptomatic treatment (or worse, further traumatizing and isolating the sufferer). Therapists who are concerned about abortion trauma, not unreasonably fear being professionally attacked or isolated (particularly from those with a ‘personal investment’ in the safety of abortion) if they speak publicly or professionally of their concerns. Consequently, most women and men traumatised by abortion, have no access to the professional help they need”.¹ Moreover, as pointed out in the same article “abortion referral agencies and institutions, because of their role in facilitating denial and dehumanising the unborn, have a conflict of interest, and are inappropriate venues for abortion grief therapy”.

Many women are at risk of experiencing long-term emotional, spiritual, psychological, and relationship difficulties post-abortion but the lack of recognition of these experiences means they are unable to access the support they need.

Some agencies that specialise in providing support are listed below.

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Endnotes

1. “Post Abortion Syndrome. The Silent Suffering” available at: https://www.abortiongrief.asn.au/abortion-trauma.php

 

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Project Rachel

Project Rachel is a confidential ministry for anyone who desires healing after being impacted by abortion. This includes the mothers and fathers of children lost to abortion, grandparents and other relatives, health care providers, and many others. Abortion crosses all boundaries of religion, race, age and socio-economic position.

Project Rachel's mission is to provide a confidential and compassionate ministry that offers resources for spiritual, emotional, and psychological healing to anyone who has been impacted by abortion regardless of faith background. We strive to convey God's forgiveness and mercy in order to restore and empower lives.

See: http://www.fli.org.nz/project-rachel

0800 111 811 (free call)
or text/call: 027 299 9815

Pregnancy Help

Practical support and advice to prepare for parenthood te tautoko me te tohutohu awhina mō te mātuatanga.

See: This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it.

Pregnancy Help
PO Box 12000
WELLINGTON, 6144

P.A.T.H.S. Post Abortion Trauma Healing Service

See: http://www.postabortionpaths.org.nz

0800 728 470

This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it.

Pregnancy Counselling Services

http://www.pregnancycounselling.org.nz

0800 773 462

Text: 021 289 8727

Abortion law reform: What would Anna Patterson Stout say?

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Article Information

Category: Bioethics at the Beginning of Life

Created on Tuesday, 07 April 2015 23:19

Last updated on Wednesday, 06 April 2016 02:25

Published on Tuesday, 07 April 2015 23:19

Written by Super User

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Frances Townsend

 

The National Council of Women of New Zealand (NCWNZ) passed a remit at its 2014 September Conference to review the Contraception, Sterilisation and Abortion Act 1977 "with a view to simplifying [the abortion law] and ensuring a women's right to choose." This remit was passed by a large majority.

NCWNZ is a federation made up of very different groups of women: radicals, conservatives, feminists, church groups, political parties, rural women, urban women, ethnic groups, business women, philosophers and philanthropists. It is a well-regarded umbrella organisation whose members include nationally organised societies of women, and NCWNZ branches. Individual members belong to the Branches together with representatives of these organisations. Consequently, the NCWNZ is a finely meshed net for catching the opinions of women.

NCWNZ has existed since 1896 to work for the benefit of women, families and community at local, national and international level. It researches the needs of women and the family, engages in education for women that helps to advance women, collects and redistributes information of service to the community. It maintains links with international councils. As an organisation NCWNZ is non-political and is not organised for the furtherance of any one interest.

At the very first meeting of NCWNZ in 1896, the gathered women discussed the many forms of violence against women, poor working conditions and the need for financial equity. The fact that in 2015 we are still discussing those things is an indication of just how long social change takes. But the pressure needs to be kept on. NCWNZ does that and over the years women have made steady gains.

One of the most effective ways NCWNZ goes about its task is to make submissions on every Bill that goes through Parliament which has a major impact on women, families and communities. The law makers appreciate this input from an organisation representative of a very wide and diverse segment of half the population. Some of the issues, like the Contraception Sterilisation and Abortion Act, are controversial, not least among the membership.

Lady Anna Patterson Stout (1858 – 1931) was a foundation member of NCWNZ, the most well-known of the founders after Kate Sheppard. She lived through momentous times that saw the gold rushes, phenomenal immigration, building the railways throughout the land, opening up the country to wool, wheat and frozen meat exports, the Boer War, becoming a Dominion instead of a colony, the First World War, patriotism, the first cars, and the Long Depression throughout the 1880s and much of the 1890s. The Long Depression saw much poverty, soup kitchens, drunkenness, and prostitution. All of these things defined Lady Anna Stout's life.

Anna's parents were well off. They were freethinkers and members of the temperance movement. Freethinking is a philosophy, its adherents holding that "it is wrong always, everywhere, and for anyone, to believe anything upon insufficient evidence" . Anna was greatly influenced by the principal of the Girls Provincial School in Dunedin which she attended from age 12. There she was taught womanly propriety, duty and service. She was brought up to believe in women's rights. At the age of 18 she married another freethinker, Robert Stout, a barrister and Member of Parliament who was knighted in 1886, at which point she became Lady Anna. From this position of eminence she worked for women, children and communities through a number of organisations: In 1885 she became a foundation member of the Women's Christian Temperance Movement and in 1892 she was elected president of the Women's Franchise League in Dunedin. In 1895 she founded the Southern Cross Society. This Society aimed to educate women politically, promote their independence and equality and improve the living conditions of women who worked for wages.

In 1896 she attended the convention in Christchurch as a representative of the Southern Cross Society and became a Vice-president of the newly created National Council of Women. She was a strong advocate of the Council representing all women's organisations. In 1897, she protested: "If the industrial, educational and philanthropic societies are not to be represented ... the Council could not be considered either national or representative".

Later she helped found the NZ Society for the Protection of Women and Children and the Plunket Society. In the post-war period Anna fought for women's rights to a full education not just domestic training. She fought for women to be treated in the same way as men were, in the matter of venereal disease and prostitution. Professor Raewyn Dalziel who wrote Anna's biography for the Dictionary of NZ Biography said of her that she had led a life at the cutting edge of change in women's public role. She was strategically placed to negotiate for women's advancement and this she had done publicly and privately.

What can we who are living in the 21st century learn from Lady Anna Stout; this feminist, fighter for justice, women's rights and equality, philanthropist and a woman deeply concerned about women's health and welfare? More specifically, what might be her contribution to the current debate about the Contraception, Sterilisation and Abortion Act?

Consider what she might say about these three hypothetical yet credible modern young women: One young woman believes in her autonomy over her own body especially in the matter of having unwanted children. The second young woman is a very sad woman. She suffers from depression and even contemplates suicide as a way out of her unhappiness. There are a number of reasons for her depression, but one that eats away at her is that she had an abortion. The third young woman is also a very sad woman. She cannot have children. She wants to adopt a child, if there were children to adopt, but there are few and the way to them is slow and difficult.

What would Lady Anna Stout say? With her freethinking background and as a feminist she would have sympathy and compassion for all three women. But she would want to see the evidence. First, she would want to study all the research on the consequences of abortion, especially the New Zealand based, internationally recognised, and long term research of Professor Fergusson and his team. In addition, she would want to study all the research that challenged his findings that there is a link between abortion and mental ill-health.

She would want to ask many questions such as: How is abortion actually criminalised under the Contraception, Sterilisation and Abortion Act, as some claim? Would easier abortion lead to more abortions? What has happened overseas where abortion is not curtailed by law? Would more abortions, if that happened, lead to more women suffering depression and suicidal thoughts? And would easier abortion lead to even fewer babies for adoption? Are there any changes that could be made to the Contraception, Sterilisation and Abortion Act that would lead to more babies for adoption? With her experience of the Liquor Industry's strong opposition to the Women's Christian Temperance movement, she would certainly want to look carefully at the abortion industry itself to see what pressures, commercial or otherwise, operate on women and groups like NCWNZ. Lady Anna Stout was not afraid of tackling difficult subjects and nor should we be afraid. She would want every aspect of women's health thoroughly researched, studied and discussed. She would argue for gender equality but, as a woman of integrity, she would also argue strongly for equality among all women within the NCWNZ family.

It is clear that there is a huge empty space opening up for those whose focus is on the rights of the unborn and the needs of pregnant women. It is important to keep an open mind to all evidence including research that shows the damaging effects of abortion on women. Whatever side of the debate we are on, we need to tackle the abortion issue with love not aggression. There is an urgent need for support for pregnant women who feel unable to cope with their pregnancy, for women who are childless and who are desperate to adopt, and for women whose babies die in childbirth. For the childless, The Sullivan Birth Certificate Act of 2014 is a breakthrough in legislation since it allows a birth mother and an adopting mother to both sign the birth certificate.

Members of the medical profession who carry out research in New Zealand, quite rightly in my view, do not want to be seen as allies of either side. We need objective research and the job of researchers is to get the results, to have their work peer-reviewed and make them known in reputable journals. Lady Anna Stout, who played a critical role in the founding of NCWNZ, believed in the importance of research evidence on which to base action in the support of women.

She was also a woman of great compassion and this is what must guide those on both sides of the issue.

NCWNZ has a ceremonial Rosebowl which was presented by a member in honour of her father, Sir John Clifton Webb, a distinguished politician and diplomat in the post-WWII period. This article was based on a presentation given by the author to the NCWNZ National Conference in October 2014 as part of the Rosebowl ceremony.

Dr Frances Townsend is a retired lecturer in teacher education and educational leadership at Auckland College of Education. She is a member of the National Council of Women of New Zealand, Papakura Franklin Branch and Auckland Catholic Women's League, Diocesan Council.

Abortion, feminism and disability

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Category: Bioethics at the Beginning of Life

Created on Sunday, 25 October 2015 21:24

Last updated on Sunday, 25 October 2015 21:31

Published on Sunday, 25 October 2015 21:24

Written by Super User

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Robyn Hunt

As a human rights practitioner, and a former human rights commissioner I clearly understand the status of the unborn child in human rights law. My standpoint is that of human rights, and in particular disability rights, as codified in the CRPD (the United Nations Convention on the Rights of Persons with Disabilities). New Zealand played a major role in developing this human rights standard and ratified it in 2008.

There are disability issues around abortion that make it a very difficult and nuanced issue for disabled feminists. For many feminists this is a really clear cut issue. For us, not so much.

Abortion is not a simple issue of choice for disabled women, especially given that for many of us our choices are more constrained than those of non-disabled women. Many disabled women do not have control over their own bodies, never mind their reproduction and sexuality. For example, over generations thousands of disabled and other “undesirable” women all over the world have been sterilised without their consent and disabled women are still sometimes sterilised without their consent.

As a disabled, feminist, prospective mother I had to contemplate whether or not any children I might bear would share my impairment. I didn’t know. It was a leap in the dark. But I had decided that my life was very much worth living and so would theirs be. That is a critical part of the issue: Whose lives are worth living?

There are a number of threads to this issue for us, but they are rarely explored in an environment where we feel safe enough to honestly discuss our concerns about some of the implications. The ‘caring’, disability support, and health professions are well populated with women, yet it is paradoxical that disabled women’s voices struggle to be heard and attended to on this and other issues that are important to us.

Eleanor Lisney, Sisters of Frida (a disabled women’s cooperative), described this struggle: “In the discourse of feminism, disabled people are seldom included … Disabled people are often seen as a ‘burden’ on the feminist from before birth to the older parent often portrayed as with dementia. The decision of aborting a disabled child is seen to be totally understandable, disabled people need caring for – usually by low paid or unpaid carers where women sacrifice themselves as carers.”

Disability is often seen as a ‘fate worse than death’. It arouses a fear of what is unknown and not understood and carries social stigma as well as social and medical pressures.

Questioning whose lives are worth living led to the ‘hidden holocaust’of World War II where over 200,000 disabled people were exterminated; this holocaust began with a German father asking the Nazi regime to kill his infant son. This was the logical culmination of the eugenics movement. But eugenics did not disappear with the end of that regime; it is still alive and well and living in New Zealand in the form of pre-natal testing which leads to some babies not being born because of their ‘abnormalities’. Would we tolerate birth selection on the grounds of race or gender? I hope not.

The crunch point for me is contained in the phrase ‘bearing a child she doesn't want’. How is that ‘doesn't want’ constructed? Is it because she is afraid and faces negative social and medical pressure? Is it because support services are woefully inadequate in some cases, and parents of disabled children can be isolated and unsupported?

And is this because of society’s fear of disability, and the eugenicist move to eliminate certain impairment groups? Is the mother afraid of social and economic sanctions if she goes ahead with the pregnancy?

However, many impairments are not detectable before birth and even when a child is born “perfect,” they may not stay that way. What then? Medical and other science may not always be able to cure, and not everybody wants to be fixed, and while there are ways of ameliorating conditions that were unheard of even a generation ago, an accident or illness can result in lifelong impairment. Imperfection and impairment are part of who we are as humans.

Abortion should not be used as a tool for eugenics. Disability cannot be eliminated this way. Disability is part of the human condition. Just think about the message this gives to people already living with the impairment – it says you are of no value – your life is worthless and your birth should have been prevented. They might be living lives they see as definitely worth living, not a fate worse than death. I have witnessed this very direct pain in people I know.

Abortion on the grounds of disability devalues disabled lives.

Robyn Hunt, ONZM, is a former Human Rights Commissioner, Disability leader and activist, writer, and a founder of Not Dead Yet Aotearoa (New Zealand).

This piece is based on an address given by the author to the Abortion Law Reform Association of New Zealand.