Tauranga and Bay of Plenty MPs have shared how they'd vote on abortion law reform. Photo / Getty Images
Tauranga and Bay of Plenty MPs have shared how they'd vote on abortion law reform. Photo / Getty Images
Bay of Plenty MPs have revealed how they will cast their vote on the abortion law reform bill announced by the Government this week.
Justice Minister Andrew Little announced on Monday details of a long-awaited bill aimed at decriminalising abortion - the first major reform in more thanfour decades.
Under the new law, the decision on whether to get an abortion will be up to the woman, in consultation with her doctor, until 20 weeks' pregnant.
After that, the person performing the procedure will have to "reasonably believe the abortion is appropriate with regard to the pregnant woman's physical and mental health, and wellbeing".
Bay of Plenty Labour list MP Angie Warren-Clark. Photo / File
Abortion is currently a crime in New Zealand but exemptions mean women can still get access if two doctors agree a pregnancy would put a woman in physical or mental risk - a process that's been criticised as both slow and stigmatising.
The bill will be voted on in a conscience vote in Parliament, rather than along party lines, with its first reading in the house on Thursday.
The bill went through extensive talks with NZ First before being announced to improve its chances of passing, but Tauranga-based NZ First MP Clayton Mitchell today told reporters the party was likely to call for a referendum.
"We've had a good discussion about that at the moment and we're working through it but it's something NZ First believes should probably be a binding referendum issue," he said.
