Seymour calls out MPS on ‘archaic’ abortion laws
Government support partner, ACT, is calling National out on its ‘‘archaic’’ abortion laws and accusing the Opposition of ‘‘grandstanding’’ on the issue.
David Seymour says he would put his own member’s bill in the ballot calling for abortion law reform if he didn’t already have a bill in to legalise euthanasia.
‘‘Our abortion laws are archaic and should be modernised,’’ the ACT leader said.
Prime Minister Bill English has already ruled out any review of the abortion laws, which currently sit in the Crimes Act 1961, and while Labour and the Greens have said they want a review there’s been no move yet to put a bill in the ballot.
‘‘It’s disappointing to see grandstanding on this issue from Labour and Green MPS, who fail to follow through with a sensible bill on abortion reform,’’ Seymour said.
‘‘Ninety-three of my colleagues are eligible to produce a bill that would modernise our abortion laws, but none have.
‘‘Instead the ballot is filled with bills on everything from the wearing of military decorations to the length of Auckland’s wharves.’’
On Sunday, English said he did not agree with the Abortion Advisory Committee that the laws needed a review and said any move to do so would lead to ‘‘liberalising’’, which he wasn’t interested in.
The staunchly Catholic Prime Minister has no interest in reviewing the laws, which saw 252 women initially denied an abortion after being handed ‘‘not justified’’ certificates last year.
Abortions are technically a crime in New Zealand and latest statistics reveal in 2014, 97 per cent of medical abortions performed on mental grounds.
Seymour says the current laws are a ‘‘charade’’.
‘‘Nobody believes that 97 per cent of women who have abortions are mentally ill, but that is what we are expected to believe according to official statistics.
‘‘The right thing to do is reform abortion law to reflect what actually happens: women exercise choice for their own reasons,’’ he said. were health