August 04, 2016
Abortion talk threat to health
A Maori reproductive health service is speaking out against an attempt to change the law so parents are notified if teenage girls seek an abortion.
The Kieft family of Taranaki is pushing for the change after finding out their daughter had an abortion without their knowledge when she was 15.
Te Whariki Takapou chief executive Alison Green says in 2014, one in three women who received an abortion were Maori.
She says all women, regardless of age, should be able to access abortion services with the knowledge that their health information will be confidential.
Ms Green says processes for managing fertility were a feature of pre-colonial Maori communities, and it’s in line with the notion that children are taonga and bringing children into the world requires optimal circumstances for whanau to raise them.
Overall, rates of fertility and the number of abortions in New Zealand and across the world are falling.
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