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Abortion in New Zealand: A Review
Author(s) -
Trlin A. D.
Publication year - 1975
Publication title -
australian journal of social issues
Language(s) - English
Resource type - Journals
SCImago Journal Rank - 0.417
H-Index - 30
eISSN - 1839-4655
pISSN - 0157-6321
DOI - 10.1002/j.1839-4655.1975.tb00549.x
Subject(s) - abortion , plea , government (linguistics) , law , public opinion , subject (documents) , political science , liberalization , publishing , project commissioning , order (exchange) , abortion law , public relations , sociology , family planning , business , research methodology , population , politics , pregnancy , linguistics , library science , computer science , genetics , biology , philosophy , demography , finance
During the last two years the subject of abortion has become a prominent social issue in New Zealand. The ‘facts’ are brought into focus by systematic reviews of (a) surveys of public and professional opinion on abortion law reform, and (b) evidence on the incidence of abortion, reasons given for therapeutic abortions, and characteristics of patients. It was found that the majority of New Zealanders clearly support some liberalization of existing laws, but not to the extent of advocating abortion on demand. The review of survey results also indicates the need for ‘clarification programmes’ to acquaint New Zealanders with the precise provisions and accepted or acceptable interpretations of existing laws. A plea is made for further information and research in order to facilitate informed and effective decision making by government. A postscript on recent events is appended.