CC0
CC0

Kiwis generally support legalised abortion

Embargoed until: Publicly released:

A survey of New Zealanders' social attitudes has found a high level of support for legalised abortion in cases where a woman's life is in danger, though slightly lower support for other cases. Women and those who weren't religious were more likely to support abortion regardless of circumstance. Currently, abortion in New Zealand is only legal under a few circumstances and the United Nations has recommended that legislation be revisited to improve women's access to reproductive healthcare.

Journal/conference: New Zealand Medical Journal

Organisation/s: University of Auckland

Funder: University of Auckland.

Media Release

From: New Zealand Medical Association (NZMA)

Key points

  • New Zealanders show high levels of support for legalised abortion in New Zealand for when a woman’s life is endangered.
  • Additionally, New Zealanders also show moderate-to-high support for legalised abortion, regardless of the reason for seeking an abortion.
  • The findings from this study provides the most recent comprehensive overview of New Zealander’s attitudes towards legalised abortion.

Summary

In 2016/17, the New Zealand Attitudes and Values Study, a large survey of New Zealander’s social attitudes, assessed support for legalised abortion in New Zealand. We found that New Zealanders hold high levels of support for legalised abortion when the woman’s life is endangered. Additionally, our results showed that New Zealanders hold moderate-to-high levels of support for legalised abortion, regardless of the reason for seeking an abortion. These results suggest that New Zealanders are supportive of legalised abortion in New Zealand.

Attachments:

Note: Not all attachments are visible to the general public

  •  Research
    New Zealand Medical Association (NZMA)
    Web page
    The URL will go live when the embargo lifts.

News for:

New Zealand

Media contact details for this story are only visible to registered journalists.