Copeland Gordon: Appointments — Abortion Supervisory Committee 
Copeland Gordon: Appointments — Abortion Supervisory Committee 
[Volume:639;Page:9908] 
GORDON COPELAND (Independent) 
: 
 I move  
That the motion be amended by omitting the words “Dr Rosemary Jane Fenwicke of Wellington” and substituting the words “Dr Ate Moala of Wellington”. 
 I regard the Abortion Supervisory Committee as the single most important supervisory body in New Zealand. I say that because abortion ends somewhere between 17000 and 18000 human lives in New Zealand each year. That is the magnitude of the task that the three people appointed to the supervisory committee are undertaking. 
Thousands of human lives are directly affected. It is with that in mind that I recommend without hesitation the appointment of Dr Ate Moala to the Abortion Supervisory Committee. Dr Moala has an impressive curriculum vitae. She is an outstanding doctor and an outstanding clinician. She is Tongan. She is a mother. I have circulated information about her and her complete curriculum vitae to every member of Parliament on three different occasions. I only wish that I could take that process further and have every member of the House given the opportunity to meet Dr Ate Moala in person. If that were possible I have no doubt at all that one would quickly conclude that she has a great deal to offer our nation as a member of the Abortion Supervisory Committee. 
As I mentioned earlier when I contemplate the reality of abortion I cannot personally comprehend that there are some 18000 abortions each and every year in New Zealand. I see those lost lives as children and I have no doubt that they would be great Kiwi kids. Our society suffers great loss through their absence. I cannot think of abortion however without also thinking of the women with child who are faced with the agonising choice of whether to terminate. All of us know that both a male and a female are involved in the creation of a new human life. Many times however the weight of the decision concerning abortion is made by the woman and by her all alone. Not infrequently the father of the child does not want to know and indeed he sometimes joins the crowd of accusers who point the finger at the woman say she “got herself pregnant” and demand that she “get rid of it”. 
I greatly admire the many tremendous New Zealanders who selflessly offer support emotionally and practically to women in that situation. These women need to be right at the very centre of the abortion process and to be treated with the greatest tenderness and compassion. I also admire those churches that have programmes. For example the Catholic and Elim churches reach out to and minister to women both before and after abortion. 
 I am of course a man so I cannot completely put myself as it were in the shoes of a woman who is faced with this serious and pain-filled decision. However I do have a wife and have accompanied her through five pregnancies so at least in that second-hand sense I can begin to appreciate that an unexpected unplanned pregnancy particularly for an unmarried woman must bring with it a lot of new and deeply disturbing questions such as: “Why me? Why now? Where will I live? How will I complete my examinations? Who will support me? How will the father of the child and my mum and dad react to the news of my pregnancy?” etc. etc. 
I am however also prepared to acknowledge here those good men who finding their partner or wife pregnant immediately pledge their wholehearted commitment and support to her welfare and the welfare of their child. That is a responsible manly thing to do and there probably needs to be a lot more taught explicitly to all New Zealand young men concerning their responsibilities when they become fathers even in unexpected circumstances if we are to see an improvement in our abortion statistics. 
Many people are amazed when I tell them that under present law it is not mandatory for certifying consultants even to meet the woman who has requested an abortion. Likewise there is no legal requirement for the woman to be fully informed of her options in terms of continuing with the pregnancy or moving to abortion. That seems amazing to me given that for many years now in New Zealand we have had a commitment to informed consent. Even those who describe themselves as pro-choice would surely agree that informed choice is always better than uninformed choice. I think all of us could also agree that a so-called choice made by a frightened and insecure mother-to-be in favour of abortion because of demands from the father of the baby friends or other family members is in truth no choice at all. 
I have long since reached the view that although I would like to see some much-needed changes to the present Contraception Sterilisation and Abortion Act abortion will continue in New Zealand until each and every woman with child is loved and every child is wanted and welcome. That should be our national goal. It will take effort and education to effect that change. That is why it is so important that we have the right people on the Abortion Supervisory Committee. 
As far as I can tell New Zealand’s abortion rate is now the highest in the Western World. We have in excess of 300 abortions for every 1000 live births compared with for example the USA where the latest figure I have is 240 abortions per 1000 live births and declining. Surely on that statistic alone all of us in this House could conclude and concur with the simple proposition that the abortion rate in New Zealand is now far far too high. It is not beyond our wit if we as a Parliament have the will to actually dramatically improve that situation. Everyone in our society would benefit from an improvement. Certainly the unborn child would experience life. The mother of that child would experience a much greater quality of life as there is now ample evidence that abortion dramatically affects the mental and psychological well-being of a woman. In simple terms abortion hurts women. 
I know that Dr Ate Moala would bring an experienced and compassionate view to the Abortion Supervisory Committee. The welfare of the woman with child would be at the centre of her concern. Therefore I ask every member to support her nomination to the Abortion Supervisory Committee as a replacement for Dr Rosemary Jane Fenwicke. The composition of the Abortion Supervisory Committee would then remain roughly the same with one doctor substituting the other one—Ate Moala for Rosemary Jane Fenwicke—Professor Linda Jane Holloway and Patricia Ann Allan who as described by the Minister we could describe as a very informed concerned layperson. That is the proposition I put to the House and I look forward to the support of members.