Stuff asked the following question.
The USA has seen its highest court remove the constitutional right for women to have an abortion.
In New Zealand there are politicians who want abortion banned and there is always the risk that a future government will agree to revoke it for political expediency if they need to secure the support of a minority party.
What action can Parliament take to safeguard existing abortion rights so change is only made if a majority of Kiwis actively and genuinely want that change?
Stuart Smith
National MP
Kaikoura
Below is Stuart Smith’s response.
What happened in the United States last month regarding the Roe vs. Wade case is shocking to say the least. The western world has made such major in-roads with LGBTQ+ rights, gender rights and many more in recent years, yet we witnessed a momentous shift backwards for women.
Abortion is a sensitive and deeply personal issue. It is also an issue where there are a wide range of opinions. However, New Zealand women can have certainty that our country’s laws on abortion will remain as they are.
In 2019 till 2020, our Parliament passed the Abortion Legislation Act 2020. This Act was debated significantly both in the chamber and across all political parties. A decision was made and the right for women in New Zealand to seek an abortion was, in my view, rightfully removed from the Crimes Act.
National Leader Christopher Luxon has already said numerous times that the next National Government will not change, or seek to change, the abortion laws.
I personally believe that a woman should have the right to decide what is done to her own body. I held this view when I came into politics, I voted for the Abortion Legislation Bill in the last Parliament, and I still stand by that vote today.
The matter is settled, and all the MPs in the National Party are of this view – that there is no need to go back and relitigate a matter like this.
Fortunately, the way laws are created, edited or repelled in New Zealand are incredibly different to how they are done in the United States. We have separation of judicial and legislative powers, which means only Parliament has the ability to create or repeal law.
What happened in the United States is incredibly unlikely to happen here.
Parliament and the Government have more important things to focus on. We have a cost-of-living crisis where the average weekly mortgage repayment is up by over $400 per week, rents are up $150 a week, the cost of everyday grocery items is becoming unaffordable for many, and wages aren’t keeping up.
Not to mention our healthcare system is falling over, violent crime is appearing in news headlines daily and we have a labour shortage.
To waste Parliament’s time by going back to try to change our laws would not be serving New Zealanders right now. National realises New Zealanders are doing it tough and we want to focus on what matters.