Saturday, March 11, 2006

NZ women sent to Sydney for abortions

The Waitemata Health board is paying for women with pregnancies advanced to 18 - 21 weeks to go to Sydney for abortions. NZ nurses and sometimes doctors are refusing to perform these abortions but the Health board is legally bound to provide them.

The question that springs into my mind is, why do these women leave it so long?
There will be cases of fetal abnormalities only detectable at a later stage and the decision to abort must be heartbreaking. But I find it hard to believe that others didn't know until 4 or 5 months, although when you read the occasional story about a woman getting right to the birth unaware of the pregnancy maybe it's more feasible than I think.

Then there is the bigger question of whether tax-payers, which is the case here, should have to fund abortions at all....

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