What the abortion statistics actually say
Abortion is being accessed earlier, and is less invasive.
Since new legislation was passed in March 2020, abortion has been treated as a health issue in New Zealand, not a crime.
Women and pregnant people can now make their own decisions about reproductive health and self-refer to abortion services, which are free. After 20 weeks’ gestation, access is restricted and an abortion must be deemed clinically appropriate by a health practitioner.
Since the law change abortion is being accessed earlier, and it is less invasive.
Almost half of all abortions in the year the legislation was passed (45%) were accessed before eight weeks’ gestation – compared with 27% in 2019. The vast majority of abortions are in the first trimester – more than 92% – and more of these are now medical abortions (treatment with pills, rather than surgery.) The overall number of abortions has remained statistically similar since 2014.
Some of those opposed to abortion claim it is now readily available up until birth, that law reform did not have a public mandate, and that it is being ‘‘used’’ as a form of birth control.
These claims are not backed up by the evidence. Here is what the statistics tell us about abortions in New Zealand…
Law reform began formally with a Law Commission review in 2018, but campaigners had been lobbying for the removal of abortion from the Crimes Act for 50 years. Given three potential options for reform, the Government chose the middle ground.
The proposed option was drafted, reviewed, and consulted on extensively before being passed into law by conscience vote in March 2020.
Previously, those seeking abortion had to meet certain criteria and gain approval from two certifying consultants, who could deny access under the Crimes Act. Most abortions were therefore secured on mental health grounds.
The majority of New Zealanders support a woman’s right to choose, with a 2021 National Council of Women Gender Attitudes survey suggesting this had increased from 66% in 2017 to 74% last year – mirroring international trends in most other social democracies.
Another survey of almost 20,000 people published in the New Zealand Medical Journal in 2019 found 65% agreed or strongly agreed with a woman’s right to choose under any circumstance. If the woman’s life was in danger, that moved to 89.3%.
Abortions past 20 weeks’ gestation are very rare. Of the 13,246 abortions last year, 102 (0.7%) were over 21 weeks. Clinicians are guided by professional and ethical standards, assessments of a patient’s mental and physical health, and, of course, pregnancy duration in order to determine the feasibility or method of pregnancy termination.
This was already the case for birth defects that affected foetal viability (i.e. a foetus incapable of surviving outside the womb) or if the life of the pregnant person was at risk.
Most receiving abortion care are first-time patients (64%), but some have had two or three terminations. Only about 1.6% of patients, mostly in older age groups, have had more terminations than this.
There is no evidence for the claim abortion is used as birth control. Women have to manage their fertility over a reproductive lifespan of 40-plus years. With a regular cycle that’s an average of more than 480 periods.
Women’s lives can be complex and difficult, and contraception may be hard to access for those in underserved communities – including Māori and Pasifika – for cost, distance or religious reasons, or for those in abusive relationships.
Contraception is also not
100% effective and can fail for various reasons, some beyond user control.
Abortion is, in general, harder to organise, more painful and disruptive than contraception.
❚ Reporting disclosure statement:
This story was written with expert advice from Massey University senior lecturer in health psychology Dr Tracy Morison, and Family Planning chief executive and nurse Jackie Edmond. It was reviewed by Dr Tracy Morison.