Adams Amy; Mallard TrevorHon AMY ADAMS (National—Selwyn): Mr Speaker thank you. I want to begin by stating very clearly in the debate on this bill—which is a conscience issue—where I start from and my fundamental views in this regard. I have an absolute belief that women have the inalienable right to control their own reproductive systems and to determine ultimately whether or not they have a child.Secondly I think there is no place for a Parliament to be specifying and legislating what the appropriate medical treatment is in any given case. We are not medical professionals; we are lawmakers and we have to respect that. I trust women and doctors to make these decisions carefully gravely and appropriately. It's time for New Zealand to go from being one of the most restrictive and outdated in the way our legislation is framed around abortion to move to having a sensible and balanced framework that doesn't make women feel like they've got to create a fiction of being mentally unbalanced to access the care and the treatment that they want. Some countries have no abortion law at all. Now that might seem strange in a New Zealand context but when you think about it we don't have laws for any of our medical treatments even those that have the most intense ethical considerations and the most significant impacts on those involved. I do want to acknowledge that there are widespread and very genuine deeply held views across the House and across society and all of those views are valid. Everyone is certainly entitled to their view and I respect those who have them who represent them and who advocate for them. But I am disappointed that so few opponents appear to have taken the time to understand even the current realities of abortion care in New Zealand or even the factual reality of this proposal.This is not abortion on demand; that is simply untrue. In every situation that the bill provides for the doctor is always the decision maker not the woman. The woman can certainly request the service but the doctor is the decision maker and the doctor is never compelled to carry out a termination where he or she doesn't believe that that is the appropriate treatment in any given case. It is not despite what is being said abortion up to birth. Those of us who sat on the select committee—and I was privileged to be in that role—heard the providers being very clear on this point. It is fatuous and misleading to suggest otherwise.The evidence is also clear that it won't increase the number of abortions in New Zealand. In fact the number of abortions has been falling for many years and that's a good thing. All members of the committee were very clear that we wanted to see a society where every pregnancy was a wanted and loved pregnancy but we do know that the delays because of the current framework are negatively impacting women significantly and this bill is about making sure that when termination services are sought they can be the product of an open and honest conversation and they can be accessed as early in the pregnancy as that can be obtained.You will hear a lot in this debate of the arguments of the specific provisions and of course that's what we do as a Parliament. But let me be really clear: what's driving the opposition to the bill is not concern about the way it's framed; it is a deep and underlying opposition to there being abortions. Now as I said that's a valid view to hold but let's be really clear: that's what's driving the opposition in this House—people who fundamentally don't believe there should be abortion. Well abortion has been a reality in New Zealand legally for many years and it will continue to be so. It is our job as lawmakers to address whether that law is correct.I want to commend the chair of the Abortion Legislation Committee the Hon Ruth Dyson and all of my fellow committee members. It is not an easy issue. It is an emotional issue. It is a fraught issue. Those who submitted came with as I said deeply held and very strident beliefs. I want to put on record that I think the committee a bipartisan committee acted respectfully and professionally irrespective of their views on the matter and I think other committees who have dealt with contentious conscience issues could certainly learn from that approach.I also want to put on record—and this is going to stray into the more contentious areas—I'm quite comfortable that not every submission was heard. I know a lot of people have tried to make a lot about that. There is no automatic right to be heard at a select committee and a select committee is not a forum by which the volume of people heard determines the outcome. Your submission—every submission made on the bill—is read is analysed and is a part of the consideration. But no one should assume that if you make a submission you have an automatic right to be heard. This committee heard 30 hours—in fact more than 30 hours—of evidence and because of the decisions we made we were able to ensure that those who came along had adequate time to recount as I said what were often difficult scenarios that they wanted to talk about.I'm quite happy to admit that I learnt a lot going through this process about the current situation and there's no question that what will be right in each case and for each woman will be very different and very specific to them and every woman must be supported to understand their options and to make the decision that is best for them.Now you'll hear a lot of selective quoting from submissions that might enable the House or people listening to misunderstand the level of support and opposition. The reality is that we've had many doctors many nurses many midwives and organisations like social workers and even the Mental Health Foundation make it clear that they supported the changes in this bill as being ultimately the right thing for the women of New Zealand.I want to come now just to a couple of the specifics in the bill and the first is addressing the suggestion that this is a solution looking for a problem. I utterly reject that. We heard evidence—harrowing evidence—from women in New Zealand who have faced incredible inequities because of where they live and their ability to access service. We heard from a woman who had to drive from Queenstown to Invercargill at her own cost take the day off work and spend a night in a hotel and then had to drive home while the pills that she had taken for the medical abortion were taking effect on her body—and she was effectively miscarrying—because she couldn't access services where she lived and she couldn't afford to spend more nights in a motel that wasn't funded by the health system. That sort of inequity and overly rigorous process is not good for women and it is time for it to come to an end. The delays that women are forced to endure and the lies that they are forced to tell to access healthcare are not acceptable in modern New Zealand.I want to talk too about what is probably the most contentious issue of the bill if my reading of the House in discussions with others is right and that is the post - 20 week framework. The first thing I want to make very clear is that abortions post - 20 weeks are always of wanted pregnancies. Women are not fickle inconsistent hare-brained people who suddenly wake up one morning and decide they no longer want to be pregnant. When abortions are sought post - 20 weeks it is very rare and it is because of the most tragic situations and it is heartbreaking for everyone involved. It is offensive to suggest otherwise. To hear of women who have been told their fetus is incompatible with life outside the womb but to be left with no options but to continue that pregnancy knowing that that is the case for months is inhuman and this bill will allow for other options to be offered to that woman.I want to simply end by saying that I came to this House to stand for freedom to stand for individual choice and to stand for less State involvement in the parts of our lives that it has no place being. That is what this bill does. Women must be in charge of their bodies not this Parliament. I commend the bill to the House.SPEAKER: Greg O'Connor—a five-minute call.