The Abortion Law Reform Association of New Zealand (ALRANZ) has appealed to Deputy Prime Minister and Clutha-Southland MP Bill English to denounce plans by anti-abortionists in Southland to “name and shame” medical professionals working in abortion care.
A Sunday Star Times report on October 14 said that Mr English supported anti-abortionists who have been campaigning against Southland’s newly opened abortion service.
We want to know if he also supports the menacing tactics this group is apparently planning, including harassing women outside the clinic and a ‘name and shame’ campaign against medical staff.
Mr English, along with the religious leaders backing this campaign, must denounce these dangerous threatening tactics.
It is outrageous that MPs and religious leaders have stood by as the rhetoric and attacks against healthcare professionals performing a legal medical procedure have continued to escalate. It is time to stop this before it leads to violence.
Anti-choice activists claim that the local staff would not take part in abortion care because they oppose abortion.
That is not true. Some staff may well be anti-choice, but the Southern District Health Board has told our Association that those opting out do not necessarily personally object, but they do fear backlash from anti-abortion activists.
We can certainly understand why they have those fears when they face these kinds of bully tactics.
Alison McCulloch is the spokeswoman for The Abortion Law Reform Association of New Zealand, a voluntary organisation which believes that it is a woman’s right to choose whether or not to continue a pregnancy. It also believes that abortion is a health matter, not a crime.
