The second article of the day that cleared my head was an editorial in the New Zealand Herald (21 Feb 2008) by Garth George.

His line of thinking (also interspersed with discussion of abstinence, condom failure rates, etc):

Point 1: “98% of abortions in New Zealand were done on grounds of ‘preserving the mental health of the mother’ (Abortion Supervisory Committee of New Zealand).”

Point 2: “But a Canterbury University Study said nearly one half of women who had an abortion ‘had elevated rates of subsequent mental and health problems, including depression, anxiety, suicide and substance abuse.’”

Therefore: “How much longer are we to allow the Abortion Supervisory Committee to con us into believing that just on 99% of the women and girls given an induced abortion each year are in danger of going insane?”

I’m just dumbfounded. It’s upsetting to again read about how we should be abstaining from sex and using contraception and then there would not have to be abortions. This viewpoint was coming from an old white man with a scowl on his face, who certainly never made a bad judgment in his life. God knows he never needed an abortion.

FOR YOUR INFORMATION:
Current New Zealand law allows for abortions to be performed for the following reasons, providing the abortion is approved by two certifying consultants:
*to save the life of the woman
*to preserve the physical health of the woman
*to preserve the mental health of the woman
*foetal impairment
*in cases of incest
Other factors which may be considered, but are not in themselves grounds for abortion, are:
*cases of rape -- because rape is a term with unclear boundaries
*certain social factors (e.g., the girl's age in a teenage pregnancy)
Abortion is not allowed under any circumstances after 20 weeks of pregnancy except to save the mother's life.