Oppose the Knitting needle bill!

March on Friday

by Fern Hickson

Last Friday's protest meeting against the Hospitals Amendment Bill ended with a standing ovation for Dr Rex Hunton (Medical Director of the Auckland Medical Aid Centre), and a resolution to do everything possible to oppose what has been dubbed the "knitting needle bill".

The 600 people who packed the Concert Chamber of the Town Hall were urged to write or send telegrams to MPs expressing concern at this irresponsible amendment; and to join the protest march which leaves pigeon park at 6.45pm this Friday, September 13, and moves through city streets ending with a rally outside the Town Hall.

The Hospitals Amendment Bill was introduced by Dr G. Wall (Mo for Porirua), and seeks to limit the performance of legal abortions to public hospitals. This will have the effect of closing down the Auckland Medical Aid Centre (Remuera Abortion Clinic) which provides safe, relatively cheap abortions for about 40 women per week. The effect of the bill will be to severely restrict the availability of abortions and thus to create conditions favouring back-street abortionists.

The meeting was addressed by 20 speakers, representing a broad range of organisations—churches, doctors, political groups, feminist groups, Wonaac and Alranz.

Trade Unionist, Sonja Davies, opened the meeting by reading a telegram from Mary Batchelor (MP Avon) wishing the meeting success. Ms Batchelor was the only MP who voted "no" to the bill when it had its first reading in Parliament last week. She said, as she was the only woman present in the house when the bill was debated she just had to make a stand for the thousands of New Zealand women who do not think abortion is wrong. Pressure on public hospitals will be inevitable if the bill is passed, she said, and until such time as public hospitals are able to cope with the demand for their services, she could see no option but to speak against the bill.

Visiting British feminist, Dr Juliet Mitchell, said that restriction on legal abortions, only in effect legalise back-street abortions. Referring [unclear: o] the situation in England, where therapeutic abortions are available in public hospitals, she said that there were not enough hospital beds, so patients needing abortions came last. "Private abortion clinics must not be closed down until sufficient facilities are available publicly."

Russel Feist spoke on behalf of the Public Questions Committee of the Presbyterian Church, and called on the government to refer the bill to a select committee. He said that he considered the bill to be an offence to doctors, as it was attacking their personal integrity and restricting their freedom of choice as to what care was the best for their patients.

Kay Goodger, from the Women's National Abortion Action Campaign, condemned the bill as an attack against women and human dignity. She said that no attempt to find out community views had been made before the bill was introduced.

The Deputy-Leader of the Values Party, Cathy Wilson, said that the bill intimately affects women, and that the predominately male house should have no voice in issues such as this. She described the bill as "underhanded".

A Porirua City Councillor, Helen Smith, charged Dr Wall with promoting a private viewpoint through constitutional privilege. She said voters in the Porirua electorate had not been consulted, and informed the meeting of a petition being circulated in that area, which expressed voters' opposition to the bill Ms Smith also asked that the bill be referred to a select committee.

John Robinson, a Labour Party candidate for the Wellington Hospital Board, said that private clinics were urgently needed to provide facilities to carry out the law. The system for abortion referral in Wellington was a "big complicated procedure", which resulted in only 57 abortions being performed in Wellington Hospital last year, he said. Mr Robinson asked why had the legislators picked on this one medical problem, and tried to restrict its operation to public hospitals, instead of being concerned about all medical procedures at private hospitals?

Jenny Browne, a representative of the Young Socialists, said that using the power of united action was the only way this bill could be thrown out. Dr Wall had expressed concern at profiteering, but he had shown no concern at private hospitals doing abortions for $300 or more. The aim of his bill was to close down the Remuera Abortion Clinic because it was fulfilling an obvious need, she said.

On behalf of the Student Teachers Association (Stanz) Fern Hickson said that they had taken a strong stand against the bill because it was directly working against women's health and women's rights. Stanz confirmed its support of the Auckland Medical Aid Centre, and called on the government to finance this and further abortion clinics to make abortion freely available.

Hazel Irvine a member of Wellington Women's Workshop, spoke about a government-financed abortion clinic in Sydney, which was started by feminists. The Australian Government gave this clinic $35,000 for its first six months of operation, and $55,000 per year after that. Ms Irvine said these clinics were necessary to fight the abortion "business".

University Feminists' spokesperson, Debbie Jones, spoke of the plight university women face when they are pregnant. They must almost inevitably drop out of university, because of lack of child care facilities and social security benefits. Restrictive abortion laws were denying women equal opportunity, she said.

Dr Erich Geiringer (for himself) said that Dr Wall had misled people to think that doctors supported his bill. This was not the case indicated by the fact that the Society of General Practitioners and the Medical Association of NZ had both protested against the bill. Dr Geiringer believes that the bill was introduced because SPUC (the Society for the Protection of the Unborn Child) was embarrassed about the need the abortion clinic was fulfilling. He described the bill as irresponsible and non-representative and said that during the debate in Parliament no-one had asked the vital question—what is going to happen to the 2000 women p.a. who obtain abortions at the Auckland Clinic, if the clinic is closed down?

Dr Minnit, a representative of the General Practitioners' Society, said the bill was an absurd and dangerous piece of legislation. He said he was pleased with the treatment of patients at the clinic, and that it was a nonprofit making centre.

The evening culminated with a lengthy address from Dr Rex Hunton, the Medical Director of the Auckland Medical Aid Centre. He outlined in detail how a woman is referred to the clinic, and what termination at the clinic entails.

He said that he set up the abortion clinic because he thought there should be a service available to all women regardless of their socio-economic status. He had come into contact with over 500 women in the last three years who were "unhappily pregnant", and he had become aware that it was a combination of money, drive, contacts and good acting which eventually got them their terminations, rather than actual need alone.

In answer to criticisms of the clinic, he said they were misinformed and deceitful. He said the clinic was not profiteering, and that the cost of an abortion (now $80) would be reduced to $50 as soon as overheads had been met. Some of the doctors were working for less than they would get in a practice. There had been only a 5% complication rate in the first 300 abortions done, but the more important factor was not if there were any, but how they were treated.

The clinic is providing a better service than can be provided in any public hospital and is second to none in the world, according to Dr Hunton.

Other speakers at the meeting represented the Public Questions Committee of the Methodist Church, the Abortion Law Reform Association, Pol-link, the NZ Council for Civil Liberties, the National Organisation of Women and VUW Gay Liberation.

This public meeting was only the first step in indicating opposition to the bill, It is vital—a matter of life or death for some women—that you raise your voice in outrage too. Make sure you join the march on Friday September 13 at 6.45pm in Pigeon Park. Mass united action is the only way we will get this anti-woman piece of legislation thrown out.