A Brief History of Abortion

1840 to 1950s: Abortion as an Illegal and Unsafe Practice

After the Treaty of Waitangi, Britain imposed its laws onto New Zealand, including the outlawing of abortion.^[1] Once New Zealand became a self-governing nation, new legislation passed in 1867 made any actions taken to end a pregnancy illegal.^[2] Under the law, any person who ended a pregnancy was criminally liable; women who sought an abortion were considered criminal accomplices.

The reason abortions were unsafe at this time was due to the methods used. Abortions at the time were a pretty risky procedure. Abortions were carried out by inserting an instrument into the woman’s vaginal canal to end the pregnancy leading to a high risk of internal damage. Furthermore, they often were performed in un-sanitised environments by untrained professionals. This dangerous procedure, often performed with dirty instruments and unclean hands, caused the risk for infections to be high. Nevertheless, women were desperate enough to risk debilitating health complications and criminalisation to receive an abortion.

The 1960s to 1990s: Division and Controversy to Decriminalisation

The 1960s brought about sexual liberation, opinions on sex, motherhood, and birth control began to shift. This shift did not just occur within the public sphere; it also created ripples in the medical world and would start making abortions easier to obtain.^[7] The view that abortion should be accessible to everyone was becoming more commonplace. As a result, abortions increased from fewer than 70 in 1965 to over 300 in 1970.^[8] Many Pro-choice and Anti-abortion groups were founded at this time and began to mobilise, creating a heated debate around abortion.

Even though public policy and attitudes towards abortion were shifting towards tolerance and acceptance of abortion, there were still those who felt that abortion needed to be prevented. The mildest reactions during this time included anti-abortionists picketing clinics and joining forces with conservative groups like Moral Rearmament, Family Rights Association, Society for the Protection of Community Standards (SPCS), and “Family 75.” A notable anti-abortion group was the SPUC, Society for the Protection of Unborn Children, which originated in Britain and spread to New Zealand.^[9] The SPUC and its supporters would gather around abortion facilities and pray, sing, and demand women not to kill their babies. These protesters went as far as following women home and telling their families that they had received an abortion.

Another anti-abortion group was ‘Feminists for Life’. This group included women such as Connie Purdue. ‘Feminists for Life’ argued that pregnant women should be supported with maternity leave and childcare rather than receive abortion access.^[10] Anti-abortionist feminists caused division within the burgeoning Women’s Liberation Movement in the ’70s.^[11]  Feminists for life changed their name to ‘Women For Life’ in 1983, signalling their rejection of current feminist views and a broader division in the feminist movement.^[12] While the anti-abortion movement grew, there was also a growing pro-choice movement.

One prominent pro-choice organisation included WONNAC, Women’s National Abortion Action Campaign WONNAC, formed in 1973, firmly believed that the control of a woman’s body and fertility would remain solely with the woman herself. The bulk of their supporters came from left-wing university students and the feminist movement at large. Another prominent group was  ALRANZ, the Abortion Law Reform Association of New Zealand. ALARANZ, formed in 1971, worked as a pressure group to lobby for abortion law reform; ALRANZ remains active today.

An abortion controversy that hit the New Zealand public was about a new method of abortions: vacuum aspiration. Vacuum aspiration was the method of sucking out the womb’s contents. Vacuum aspiration was a very safe procedure due to the low rate of infection and damage to the uterus. Usually, when a safe alternative medical procedure is created, it is hailed as an outstanding achievement. However, for a medical procedure as controversial as abortion, the new vacuum method only added fuel to the fire.^[13]

During this time, the Auckland Medical Aid Centre (AMAC) opened in 1974. AMAC provided abortions for women in the first trimester of their pregnancy (1-14 weeks), making abortions easier to access. In September of 1974, a police raid was carried out on AMAC clinic, and Dr Jim Woolnough, one of the centre’s doctors, was prosecuted for ‘illegal abortions’.^[14] Dr Jim Woolnough was charged with 12 counts of obtaining illegal abortions. Although Dr Jim Woolnough was later acquitted, a High Court appeal failed to overturn the not guilty verdict.

In 1975, Labour MP and SPUC member Gerard Wall’s ‘Hospital Amendment Act 1975’ passed into law. The ‘Hospital Amendment Act 1975’ limited legal abortion facilities available to hospitals.^[15] The Act caused AMAC to close until it reopened in 1980 after buying a private hospital. Later, the Hospital Amendment Act was invalidated on technical grounds.^[16] Bills such as the ‘Hospital Amendment Act 1975’ are still used by anti-abortion activists outside of New Zealand, notably in the USA, to limit abortion access. In 1976 AMAC was burned down in an arson attack, an extreme case of anti-abortion activism. The arson cost around $830,000 (inflated for modern terms) worth of damage.^[17]

In response to the growing public discourse on abortion, parliament launched a Royal Commission on Contraception, Sterilisation and Abortion to review and form public policy on each of the mentioned issues. The commission recommended a legal framework for abortion. As a result, the Third National Government passed the Contraception, Sterilisation and Abortion Act 1977. The legal framework meant that a patient wishing to end a pregnancy had to see their doctor and another two medical consultants, who would look at the physical and mental grounds for carrying out an abortion; counselling was also available for women undertaking an abortion. In addition, the Crimes Act of 1961 was amended, allowing abortion within the 20 weeks gestation period. After the first 20 weeks, abortion was allowed to save the mother’s life and prevent serious and permanent harm to her mental and physical health. Although the Act was not without its critics, a feminist group known as Campaign to Oppose Repressive Abortion Laws (also known as CORAL) thought the Act was too restrictive on women’s reproductive rights.^[18]

The 1980s-1990s : Activism after the Contraception, Sterilisation and Abortion Act

Through the 1980s, cases of anti-abortion and pro-choice activism continued. An extreme case of anti-abortion activism was ‘Operation Rescue New Zealand’ modelled after the American-based Randall Terry’s ‘Operation Rescue’. ‘Operation Rescue New Zealand’ used confrontational tactics such as picketing abortion clinics, harassing abortion patients, and distributing leaflets attacking abortion doctors as “baby killers.” More aggressive and dangerous tactics included breaking into buildings and operation theatres to disrupt abortions taking place. The anti-abortion movement denounced operation Rescue for its willingness to break the law, most notably by ‘Women for Life’ president Anetta Mortan.^[19] SPUC’s leadership initially took the same route, starting as critical of Operation Rescue, but the leadership later relented and allowed its members to participate.^[20] Operation Rescue had a massive Catholic component that included priests and clergy, and an estimated half of Operation Rescue’s supporters were also SPUC members. Operation New Zealand operated from the late 1980s to the early 1990s.

Pro-choice groups continued working on making abortion and sex education more accessible. Under the ‘Contraception, Sterilisation and Abortion Act 1977’, it was easier to obtain an abortion than ever before. As a result, abortion rights activists switched their attention to urging schools to have sex education and for young people to have easier access to contraceptives. After the abortion reforms of the ’70s and ’80s, ALRANZ began to lobby several hospital boards into establishing more abortion clinics and services across New Zealand.^[21] From 1978 to 1986, the abortion section of the Crimes Act was amended to make abortion legal for cases of foetal abnormality, incest, age, and sexual violation.^[22]The bulk of abortions in New Zealand happened at three locations: Epsom Day clinic in Auckland, Parkview Clinic in Wellington, and Lyndhurst Hospital in Christchurch.

Into the 21^st Century and Beyond

As the 90s came around, the controversy surrounding abortion in the ’70s and ’80s began to dim, and anti-abortion activism began to slow.^[23] There were still protests, but they had minimal effect. Although New Zealand law was still quite restrictive regarding abortion, abortion was generally available to women who needed it. When the 2000s arrived, anti-abortion activism started up again, and this time, they had an excellent new tool: the internet.^[24]

In the 2010s, a wave of pro-choice activists switched their focus on decriminalising abortion. Under the Crimes Act, abortion was still listed as a crime. This shift in focusing on decriminalisation was part of an international movement to make abortion legal for everyone. The New Zealand government introduced the Abortion Legislation Bill to parliament in 2019.^[25] Enacted in 2020, the Bill removed abortion from the Crimes Act and made it a legal medical procedure that women were entitled to within the first 20 weeks of pregnancy. Women could receive an abortion without going through the previous consultation process, and doctors were no longer allowed the right to Conscientious objection over abortion.^[26] After 20 weeks, women would need to consult two medical professionals to receive an abortion. Groups such as ALRANZ still lobby for further legalisation of abortion.

The past 120 years of New Zealand history have witnessed massive changes in public opinion on abortion, from the 1840s where abortion was frowned upon to now where abortion is an accepted right. Events such as World War Two, the baby boom that followed, and the sexual liberation movement of the 1960s have slowly brought about public acceptance of abortion and women’s rights. Over New Zealand history, abortion has caused divisions within religion, politics, and even within feminism. Today, abortion remains one of the most divisive topics In New Zealand and around the world. However, even though abortion has caused massive division, the activists of today and past have successfully advocated for abortion legalisation and women’s autonomy.