As the US gets to grips with the massive implications of the overturn of Roe v Wade last year, how has abortion legislation in New Zealand changed over the years?
It's the subject of a new book from Dr Felicity Goodyear -Smith, called From Crime to Care: The History of Abortion in Aotearoa New Zealand. She's a former certifying consultant from 1981 until 2020, when abortion was decriminalised in New Zealand.
The book begins with a look at abortion in pre-colonial times, through the late 19th century when so-called "baby farmers" were a solution to unwanted babies, to the liberalisation of sexual attitudes and behaviour in the 50s and 60s.
But it's the events of the 1970s that are the book's particular focus: the setting up of the first abortion clinic in 1974 and how that went down with a strong anti-abortion movement at the time.
Dr Goodyear-Smith says although New Zealand's abortion law has gone from being a criminal to a health concern, the US decision shows how it liberal laws can be undone - and that New Zealand must ensure its reforms endure.
Photo: Supplied
