Policy Quicke: Abortion law reform

The status quo:
Cribbing from an earlier post by Deborah:

"...the working compromise reached in New Zealand has in effect allowed most women to access abortion when they need it. It has not quite been abortion on demand, but close enough. For people unfamiliar with New Zealand law, the Contraception Sterilisation and Abortion Act 1977 allows women access to abortion on a variety of grounds, including injury to a woman's mental health. Women have to get two abortion consultants (doctors) to certify that an abortion is needed, but by-and-large, most women have been able to do so. The "two consultants" and "mental health" provisions have provided sufficient barriers to abortion to keep the right-to-lifers if not satisfied, at least at bay, and the practical effect has been to allow women to have abortions."

However with the recent successful court action taken by Right to Life NZ, a High Court Judge has cast doubt on the legality of some of the abortions certified on mental health grounds. The current law stands of course, but there may be a tightening up of this particular area, which could see a substantial restriction on access to legal abortions, depending on how any changes happen in a practical sense. Even without these changes the reality for some women seeking an abortion is that it is far from available "on demand" currently, and there are still significant hoops to jump through for all.

Abortion Services in NZ has a good rundown of the law as it stands, as well as providing access to information about abortion services throughout the country.

History:
I'm no expert on the history of our abortion law, and I'm very aware that at least one of our writers and probably many of our readers are. So I'm going to tap to this brief timeline of the history of our abortions laws at ALRANZ.

Party positions for the 2008 Election:
Act: Couldn't find anything in their Health section and nothing else on their 20 Point Plan seemed to relate (no Women's policy on website)

Alliance: "...adopt the Abortion Supervisory Committee’s recommendation that all medical practitioners may become certifying consultants for termination purposes."

Family: "...Seek legal status for the unborn child ... Review current practice and procedure around abortions to determine whether the original intent of the Contraception Sterilisation and Abortion Act is being achieved and complied with, with regards to the right to life of the unborn child. Provide mothers with a genuine and meaningful range of alternatives to abortion, such as adoption and effective support services to continue with pregnancy, birth and early childhood. Implement a thorough education programme for mothers contemplating abortion, including viewing a scan of baby in the womb, to be fully and fairly informed of the nature and impact of abortion on their physical and emotional wellbeing. Require parental knowledge and consent for child/teen abortion procedures (Amendment to the Care of Children Act)."

Greens: "Review abortion services to ensure equity of access for women throughout New Zealand." (2005 Women's Policy, they do not appear to have updated it for 2008)

Kiwi: This is in their Family policy: "Require parents/guardians be informed and give consent for girls under sixteen seeking an abortion. Provide balanced counselling and information to all women considering an abortion." And then this is in their Health policy, under the sub-section heading The Unborn Child: "Support a review of current practice to prevent abuse of the present Abortion laws. It is clear the current law is not being correctly applied and that we effectively have abortion on demand, rather than limiting it to women with genuine health problems. (17,732 abortions performed in 2006-7 represent approximately 21% of all pregnancies.) Insist that balanced counselling and full information must be supplied to all women considering an abortion. Insist that post–operative counselling must be easily available. Insist that consent is obtained from a legal guardian when a girl is under 16 years of age. Encourage adoption as an alternative to abortion." And finally we have their response to Question 4 of our election survey, which relates to abortion.

Labour: Like National, Labour's response to our survey was that it is a matter for the individual MP, however they did also state that they did indicate they support the current law on reproductive rights (not just abortion). No mention of abortion on their campaign website.

Libertarianz: No recent mention of abortion on their website. Richard McGrath (number 2 on their party list) stated in his response to our survey "... Libertarianz would make abortion on demand legal up to 24 weeks gestation, possibly later. A woman’s body belongs to her, no-one else. We don’t believe there is a ‘right’ to contraception or any other sort of health care, as it implies that someone could therefore be forced to fund and provide that care. A woman who finds herself pregnant has sole discretion about whether she gets an abortion..."

Maori Party: No specific policy. In their party response to our survey they stated "... decisions around reproduction rights are decisions for whanau to make. The second is that families should have real choice in making decisions on reproduction..."

National: Could not find anything in their health policy, and the National party response to our election survey tends to indicate they don't have a party view?

NZ First: No mention in policy. Current MP Doug Woolerton's response to our survey indicated he thinks the current law is ok.

Pacific*: "Remove current policy of Abortion on Demand."

Progressives: Their website was down when I was writing this. The Progressive party response to the relevant question from our survey says they think the current law is ok, and goes on to state: "The Progressive Party stance on this issue is based on the recognition that pregnancy termination is a highly personal issue. We support choice because we do not want to return to the days of highly dangerous illegal backstreet abortions and consider that the only real alternative to this is a free, legal and accessible service, and the provision of free contraceptives. ... On the associated question of abortions for girls without parental knowledge, the Progressive Party considers that on the rare occasions when a girl under the age of sixteen has an abortion without parental knowledge or consent this is on the basis of professional medical and clinical judgement. We prefer that such judgements should be made at that level and we would not support an amendment proposed by some lobby groups to the Care of Children Act giving parents a right of veto in such circumstances."

RAM: "...access to safe abortions for women who do not want to be forced into motherhood"

UnitedFuture: No mention in policy. Various responses from individual candidates in our survey index.

---

ALRANZ, the Abortion Law Reform Association, have stated that they consider the Green party policy is the "most favourable" to their pro-choice position, and that Labour and Act are parties more in favour of reform than National, NZ First or the Maori Party.

As this is so often a conscience issue for individual MPs (i.e. they get a "free" vote, determined without party whipping) you may be interested in the responses of various candidates, and parties, to our election survey. Question 3 is the one on reproductive rights, including abortion.

This is a feminist blog. As you'd expect, we've written rather a lot about the pivotal issue of a woman's right to choose, and to control her own body. And no doubt there will be more to come!

A full index of our policy quickie posts to date can be found here.

*I haven't included the Pacific party previously, as searches for a website proved fruitless. Today I received a flyer from them in our local paper, which included their website address, so I'm able to include them in this one.

Policy Quickie: Maternity hospital stays

The status quo:
Depends on the policy of the DHB, the individual ward management, and your Lead Maternity Carer. Many maternity units have a minimum number of days you can stay if you have had a caesarean (usually 3 to 5 days), however with natural biths (60-70% of births) most places seem to have a policy of encouraging mums to leave hospital as soon as possible.

History:
Thirty years ago stays of a fortnight were not uncommon, natural birth or otherwise. Over the years this has decreased significantly. Controversially one hospital initiated a scheme to reward mothers who left within 6 hours of birth last year, although the $100 voucher component was quickly ditched after public outrage.

Party positions for the 2008 Election:
Act: Couldn't find anything on maternity, however the policy suggests a shift to user pays, so I guess those who could afford to stay longer could buy a bed? "Hospitals compete in the business of delivering high quality healthcare at competitive prices."

Alliance: (No mention in Health Policy)

Family: "Maintain effective support services for mums before and after birth, including home visits and mum-mentoring where necessary."

Greens: Extensive maternal health policy, including "Increase choice for women about the length of hospital stay following childbirth," but nothing more specific.

Kiwi: "Deliver postnatal care for mothers in the most appropriate setting. Women could stay longer in hospital after giving birth or have increased support in the home."

Labour: "Labour will ensure there is a high level of communication and coordination between midwives, GPs and obstetricians so that all mothers are provided with the postnatal care they need, including longer stays in maternity units where this is required."

Libertarianz: "Libertarianz will end socialised medicine. We will progressively remove the state from all involvement in medicine, allowing providers of all forms of prevention, treatment and therapy to compete in an open market."

Maori Party: (could not find any mention on policy page on website)

National: "Ensure mothers have the choice to stay in birthing facilities longer so they can establish breastfeeding and the confidence to return home. Boost funding for postnatal care by $11 million a year so new mothers can stay longer in birthing facilities and have better access to breastfeeding support."

NZ First: "ensure that safety considerations are paramount in funding decisions relating to maternity care services and require improved provision of ante-natal classes, maternity services for rural, Maori and Pacific Island women, and the improved monitoring of maternity services;"

Progressives: (no mention in health policy)

RAM: (no mention in policy PDF)

UnitedFuture: Nothing explicit, just "Target infant health by concentrating on the appropriate support for parents before and after birth and ensuring high-quality extended care and support, including home visits, by lead maternity carers and Plunket."

---

We've had some debates here about maternity stays in the past, but damned if I could find them when I went looking, maybe they were on someone else's blog!

A full index of our policy quickie posts to date can be found here.

Policy Quickie: Ministry of Women's Affairs

The status quo:
Currently the Ministry of Women's Affairs, is the smallest of the Government's core agencies (with 35 staff and a budget of around $4M) and the relevant Minister, Steve Chadwick, is ranked 18th in Cabinet. According to their website

"The job of the Ministry is to:

• provide advice on policy solutions to improve the status of women
• recommend suitable women nominees for state sector boards
• manage New Zealand’s international obligations in relation to the status of women, in particular under the United Nations Convention for the Elimination of All Forms of Discrimination against Women.

The work of the Ministry is guided by The Action Plan for New Zealand Women, a five-year whole-of-government plan launched in 2004."

History:
Established in 1984 by the fourth Labour Government, I couldn't find out much more, so feel free to add anything you know about the history of the Ministry in comments.

Party positions for the 2008 Election:
Act: General commitment to reduce the size of Government and close departments. No specific mention of women's affairs.

Alliance: (no mention on website)

Family: (no mention on website)

Greens: 2008 policy detail is not up yet, but 2005 full policy includes "The Green Party will: 1. Require all legislation and government policy be analysed to examine the different effect on men, women, Maori and non Maori. 2. Review the adequacy of funding of the Ministry of Women's Affairs."

Kiwi: (no mention on policy page on website)

Labour: (couldn't find any mention of the MWA in the policy section of their campaign website)

Libertarianz: Nothing explicit, however they do state "We are committed to getting Nanny State off our backs, out of our pockets and out of our lives! We will abolish the regulations, Departments, Commissions and Ministries, statutes and tax codes that hinder rather than help economic growth."

Maori Party: Nothing on Women's Affairs, but in terms of ministries and the like, their policy states "It is important that the community receives accurate information about our progress as a nation. To advance this we propose the adoption of the ‘Genuine Progress Index.'
Joint action across government agencies creates confusion and duplication. Social sector agencies need to move their resources to the regions so that community solutions can be supported - rather than one-size- fits-all solutions."

National: They have a page for their Women's Affairs policy, but there's no policy on it...

NZ First: (no mention of women's affairs in the policy document)

Progressives: (no mention in policy section)

RAM: No mention of the Minister, however they do have a Women's Charter in their policy document.

UnitedFuture: "Rename and refocus the Ministry of Women’s Affairs to the Ministry of Gender Affairs because the specific needs of both genders co-exist and can only be addressed by recognising the effects that any policy has on both men and women."

In one way I guess the paucity of policy specifically on the MWA shows that many parties see it as an established part of our political institutions. Either that or they just haven't thought about it!

A full index of policy quickie posts can be found here.

Policy Quickie: Paid Parental Leave

The status quo:
14 weeks of paid parental leave, funded by the Government (through the IRD), and able to be split between both parents, or taken entirely by one. It's universally available, as long as the mother meets certain service requirements, and the payment is 80% of the parent's weekly wage, to a ceiling that is currently around $407 (gross) a week. The Employment Relations Service has more information on the scheme.

History:
Originally put forward by the Alliance, it was first introduced in 2002 by the Labour-Alliance coalition government, and was at that time 12 weeks paid parental leave. It was extended to 14 weeks in 2005 by the Labour-led coalition government, with support from other parties such as the Progressives and the Greens. During its existence there have also been tweaks to increase the ceiling, and widen eligibility (most notably to the self-employed in 2006).

Party positions for the 2008 Election:
Act: Policy isn't explicit, but intends to repeal minimum wage laws and "Replace all other regulations affecting employment with common law remedies."

Alliance: "...workers who become primary caregivers should get 12 months’ paid parental leave and their partners should get two weeks’ paid parental leave."

Family: (could not find any mention on website)

Greens: "Extend the period of paid parental leave to 13 months and increase the level of payments to 100% of the average male wage."

Kiwi: (could not find any mention on website)

Labour: No intention to change the scheme. Had hoped to make an election promise around expanding it, however have shelved it due to the collapse of global capitalism.

Libertarianz: "We will abolish the regulations, Departments, Commissions and Ministries, statutes and tax codes that hinder rather than help economic growth." Assumedly this includes minimum employment rights like paid parental leave?

Maori Party: No explicit policy, however Hone Harawira has raised extending it to 12 months in the past.

National: (could not find any policy mention on website)

NZ First: (could not find any mention in the policy document)

Progressives: (no mention of intention to change, however note involvement in the scheme's adoption and extension to self-employed)

RAM: "Extend paid parental leave to 26 weeks and increase the payments."

UnitedFuture: "Extend paid and unpaid parental leave to both parents... Recognise the imperative for fathers to bond with their newborns by an extension of parental leave."

---

The Families Commission has called for 13 months' paid parental leave by 2015, including a month's paid leave for fathers.

A full index of our policy quickie posts to date can be found here.

Policy Quickies: Domestic Purposes Benefit

The status quo:
The Domestic Purposes Benefit (DPB) is currently available to those who are over 18, responsible for at least one dependent child who is under 18, and have no partner (the other parent or anyone else). As at 1st October 2008 the DPB is $304.93 a week before tax, and depending on the family's circumstances they may be able to access other Government support, like the Accommodation Supplement. At the moment those solo parents receiving the DPB may be required to participate in developing and signing a "Personal Development and Employment Plan", however it is made explicit that they cannot be pressured into taking up or accepting employment. There is also a requirement to apply for Child Support. Work & Income has more information about this benefit.

History:
The Domestic Purposes Benefit was first introduced in 1974, by Labour. It has been predominantly accessed by single mothers, with a small number of solo-parent fathers receiving the benefit. It's pretty fair to say that the DPB has been probably the most controversial benefit in NZ's recent history, with ardent advocacy from some groups to work-test those who receive it, or abolish it altogether.

Party positions for the 2008 Election:
Act: Huge proportion of their welfare policy dedicated soley to DPB. Solo parents to access their own or the father's superannuation before being able to receive a benefit from Government. In favour of work-testing, possibility of access to education scholarships.

Alliance: No explicit mention of DPB, however "Setting ... benefits at a level that provides a liveable income for families" seems to indicate an intention to increase it?

Family: "Review all current welfare benefits that potentially incentivise parental separation, such as the Domestic Purposes Benefit." General policy on welfare indicates support for work-testing.

Greens: "DPB to be protected; no compulsory work-testing." Their general policies around benefit levels indicate an intention to increase them to a level sufficient to meet basic needs and then fix them to a percentage of the average wage.

Kiwi: Examine legislation that has contributed to "family breakdown", with the DPB specifically listed in a speech by Gordon Copeland.

Labour: No mention in Social Develoment Policy, however there is mention of the intent to continue with the "Core Benefit" approach, which would include the DPB.

Libertarianz: "All state benefits – including ... DPB - would be phased out to permit the growth of voluntary charities and private insurance."

Maori Party: Nothing specific about DPB, but policy states "We will designate an official poverty line at 60 percent of the median household disposable income after housing costs and set net income for those on benefits at this measure to prevent poverty."

National: "Extend part-time work obligations to: People receiving a domestic purposes benefit, once their youngest child is aged six or over..." and "Enshrine CPI adjustments to benefit payments in legislation so they increase each year in line with inflation."

NZ First: "introduce the Parental Responsibility Bill to require applicants for the DPB to sign an agreement with WINZ to the effect that they will agree to meet with a nominated social worker regularly to provide any assistance needed by the parent and for health and welfare checks for the child;" Mention elsewhere of work-testing, however not clear whether this would apply to DPB.

Progressives: (could not find any mention on website)

RAM: No explicit menton of DPB, however general benefits policy includes intention to restore to pre-1991 levels.

UnitedFuture: "Closely monitor the effectiveness of enhanced case management approach currently applied to domestic purposes recipients, to ensure that they move into appropriate employment as their children get older."

A full index of policy quickie posts can be found here.

Policy Quickies

Given it's General Election season, it might be timely to do a bit of the ol' policy comparison in particular areas that might be of interest to women, especially those of a feminist bent. So as time allows there will hopefully appear a few of these Policy Quickie posts.

This series will not be about whole policy areas, but focus in very clearly on specific measures that are currently in place, e.g. Paid Parental Leave, or that have been the subject of some advocacy/controversy, eg Herceptin, and summarise (very succintly) what each party's stated approach is.

This really is going to be dependent on two things: a) our workload off-blog, and b) how easily accessible parties make that policy detail (including when they release it). So the Policy Quickies may fizzle out, or they may flourish and multiply.

Either way, this post will serve as index list for our Policy Quickie posts. Feel free to suggest areas for attention in comments.

Here are the ones I hope we'll get to once time and policy accessiblity allow (they'll be updated with a date and a link once each post is written):

• Paid Parental Leave - 22nd October 2008
  
• Funding for Herceptin (see comments to this post for why)
  
• Abortion Law Reform - 6th November 2008
  
• Maternity stays in hospital/birthing units - 3rd November 2008
  
• Pay equity legislation
  
• Domestic Purposes Benefit - 20th October 2008
  
• Role of the Ministry of Women's Affairs - 2nd November 2008
  

Alright then, let's see how this goes!