The abortion law of New Zealand appears to have been interpreted very liberally over recent years by sectors of the medical profession. Indeed the interpretation of the law appears to have been so liberal that it raises questions as to the lawfulness of many of the abortions carried out in New Zealand.
Liability of Health Professionals for a
Breach of the Abortion Law of New ZealandIan Bassett LLB(Hons) (Auck), LLM (Camb), AAMINZ
An edited verion of this article was published in (2001) 9 Journal of Law & Medicine 115
Since the above Journal of Law and Medicine article was published in 2001 there have been various legal developments, though the general liability issues remain.
On 9 June 2008 Miller J of the High Court of New Zealand at Wellington delivered a judgment in Right to Life New Zealand Inc v The Abortion Supervisory Committee CIV 2005-485-999 (click here for the judgment) regarding the law as to the functions and powers of the Abortion Supervisory Committee (refer in particular to paragraph [5](d) of the judgment).
On 3 August 2009 Miller J in the High Court delivered a further judgment in Right to Life New Zealand Inc v The Abortion Supervisory Committee CIV 2005-485-000 (click here for the judgment) declining to make a declaration.
The Abortion Supervisory Committee appealed to the Court of Appeal and Right to Life New Zealand Inc cross appealed. The Court of Appeal delivered its judgment dated 1 June 2011 (click here for the judgment) by allowing the appeal (by a 2-1 majority decision) and dismissing the cross appeal (by a 3-0 decision).
Right to Life New Zealand Inc sought leave to appeal to the Supreme Court. In a decision on 26 August 2011 the Supreme Court (click here for the judgment) granted Right to Life New Zealand Inc leave to appeal in relation to certain issues. The appeal will be heard in the Supreme Court on 13 March 2012.