The resounding vote for women’s rights in the Irish abortion referendum has raised the positing that a referendum on abortion in New Zealand may bring our laws into the 21st century (if that’s what a majority wants).
But Helen Clark doesn’t think this is necessary – a bit ironic given her lack of action as Prime Minister.
A curious comment given that Helen Clark led the New Zealand Government for nine years without promoting any consultation or policy or legislation that address the archaic and largely ignored abortion law.
Governments and parties have proven to be very conservative on a number of important social issues, like abortion, cannabis and drug law reform, and euthanasia. Some may say gutless.
A push for referendums may be a way to push the Government to actually do something. Nothing much else has worked, apart from private members’ bills, so threatening to take some of their power (and give it to the people) might be what it needs to get them to actually do something rather than say they could have like Clark has.
And a referendum doesn’t take away the need for “Policy and legislation can be developed in a consultative way” – that is required with or without a referendum.
I’d be quite happy for the Government to just fix our demeaning abortion law and our disastrous drug laws, but if those changes were confirmed by popular vote it would strengthen their standing.
I think that euthanasia should go to referendum anyway.
Your NZ 
Gezza
/ 28th May 2018What Helen means is if she was in charge she would decide what is to happen and then arrange for various people to be consulted and then it would be done.
Alan Wilkinson
/ 28th May 2018Possibly afraid binding referenda would catch on.
Kitty Catkin
/ 28th May 2018I don’t see that it’s necessary given that abortion is de facto on demand and that is unlikely to change.
Helen Clark – another person who doesn’t know that referendum is a gerund, ergo has no plural in Latin. If it did, it would be referendi, anyway.
Corky
/ 28th May 2018I think Helen doesn’t want to risk a referendum. She knows quite well, as did John Key with his support the anti smacking bill, that New Zealand has far more socially conservative folk than mainstream media would have us believe.
Ray
/ 28th May 2018Maybe Corky but I doubt that we could be more conservative than the Irish, let’s have a referendum and see.
Corky
/ 28th May 2018Agreed, maybe in the last few years. However, we wouldn’t have had the anti smacking and gay marriage bill if this had gone to referendum a few years back.
I also agree we should have a referendum because that finalises the issue.
Oh, by the way, I support abortion and gay marriage. I don’t support the bullshit and white washing of the issues surrounding them though. For example the mental health of women who have had an abortion. Ireland will be a great example as many Irish women are conditioned by religion( subconsciously).That may conflict with their mental health when they have an abortion. There are also claims women may be more suspectable to breast cancer after an abortion( repeat-claims). There is also the problem of school girls having abortions without parental knowledge.
Gezza
/ 28th May 2018Upticked – fair points.
Griff
/ 28th May 2018Abortion poll
March 13, 2017
https://www.curia.co.nz/2017/03/abortion-poll/
Click to access Abortion-Issues-Poll-Results-January-2017.pdf
Yip those darn hidden Conservatives.
The moral minority would not dictate abortion law if it went to referendum.
The overton window has moved .
Clark is right, repeated polling says there is widespread support for moving towards more liberal laws including removing abortion from the crimes Act.
Corky
/ 28th May 2018Then let’s have a referendum and put the issue to bed. Are we a democracy?
Gezza
/ 28th May 2018Flag referendum said we are, I guess.
Corky
/ 28th May 2018Yes, a conservative(?) result. All the more reason for a referendum on these issues.
Griff
/ 28th May 2018There is of course this.
https://www.familyfirst.org.nz/2018/01/shock-poll-nzers-want-stricter-limits-on-abortion/
Some one not giving an opinion is not supporting your views .
The clear majority who do have an opinion support change.
As to the statement.
Those who are informed on abortion know that getting the procedure after 14 weeks is handled differently then earlier term.
Only around 6.2 percent of abortions are preformed after 14 weeks.
Late term abortions are restricted by the higher cost and complexity as well as the ethical approach the medical community already take towards the procedure.
After 14 weeks abortion is only preformed by a restricted number of clinics .
You must see a specialist surgeon and convince him you should get one of the limited spaces available.
After 16 weeks the difficulty of actually getting an abortion rises considerably again.
After 20 I dont even think we do it here instead send only a small number of the most risky cases to clinics in Au.
David
/ 28th May 2018Hate to say it but Clark is right on this one, the parliament has enough sensible folk there to be able to update our abortion laws. In effect its readily available albeit with some inconvenient hurdles which as an adopted person from a time when it wasnt available I see the need for but perhaps asked in a more dignified way and in a more timely manner.
If it s turned into a referendum then all the crazies from the extremes send the media into a frenzy and everyone gets polarized and nothing sensible happens and the country is divided unnecessarily. Referendums should be restricted to constitutional matters only imho.
nzautoimmune
/ 28th May 2018Agree. It also won’t help that questions in a referendum will likely be worded so that *some* people will be confused by it (like smacking referendum), or will need a copy of the tentative law to provide an informed choice – which most won’t read
Zedd
/ 28th May 2018sorry auntie helen, dot agree..
methinks ALL major ‘social issues’ need such measures, before law reform
Gezza
/ 28th May 2018The downsides to referendums in this country are
1. Getting the questions right
2. Getting the politicians to agree to make them binding referendums & to carry them out
3. Getting the issue revisited if the referendum fails but shouldn’t have.
Zedd
/ 28th May 2018ai gezza