Abortion rates down for first time in seven years

Emergency contraception, school sex education and programmes for new immigrants have caused New Zealand's abortion rate to fall for first time since 1998, the Family Planning Association says.

Figures released by Statistics New Zealand today show 20.5 per 1000 women aged between 14 and 44 had abortions in 2004, down from 21 in 2003.

A total of 18,210 abortions were performed in New Zealand in the year ending December 2004, 300 operations or 1.6 per cent fewer than in 2003. In 2003 abortion rates increased 6.5 per cent and by 5.9 per cent in 2002.

Abortion rates have increased every year since 1990 with similar slight decreases in 1998 and 1992 the only exceptions.

Family Planning national medical adviser Christine Roke said today the statistics showed strategies to reduce abortion rates were beginning to work.

"It's very heartening," she told NZPA.

Women now had reasonable access to contraception and emergency contraception had been available from pharmacies for several years.

"It's more readily available and, if you can pay for it, you can pop into a pharmacy in the weekend and get it."

Sexual education in schools through the physical education and health curriculum had also been running for a number of years.

"So maybe that's helping," Dr Roke said.

More than half the total rise in abortions in 2003 had been attributed to Asian women, many new immigrants who had no sexual education before coming to New Zealand.

In 2004 about 3180 women who identified with an Asian ethnic group had abortions, or 17.5 per cent of all abortions, down slightly from 18 per cent in 2003.

"There's been a lot of effort put in to making sure that there is more education in that area and that people know where to go," Dr Roke said.

Women aged 20-24 years had more abortions than other age groups, accounting for about three out of 10 abortions (39 per 1000). Women aged 25-29 years had the next highest rate (27 per 1000), followed by teenagers aged 15-19 years (26 per 1000).

Women aged 20-24 were among the most highly sexually active, she said.

"Not such a high percentage of younger girls are having sexual intercourse, so those in their early twenties are the most at risk.

In New Zealand the average age for having children was about 29.

"So when people get pregnant in their early twenties sometimes it is not an intended pregnancy so they have to consider whether they are going to continue or not, or how they are going to manage it."

- NZPA