Abortion is a big issue at the moment globally. I’m surprised to see the ‘pro-life’ movement seems to be in the ascendancy. Most notably, Nicaragua has passed a law completely banning all abortion (sadly with the support of Sandinista presidential candidate Daniel Ortega). The US state of South Dakota is about to have a referendum on banning abortion. And Poland is currently debating a ban on rape victims ending pregnancies. A Guardian summary of all this can be found here. Also, there was recently a very good article in the Guardian on the cultural silence surrounding abortion.
Meanwhile in New Zealand, abortion law is still rather backward, and I’m ready to be corrected, but abortion is only allowed up to the 12th week of pregnancy which is very restrictive. And now a NZ study of ‘Abortion in young women and subsequent mental health’ is playing an international role in helping the ‘pro-life’ campaign. A critique of this can be read in spiked-online article abort these lazy anti-choice arguments.
