We had an amazing night at the new VicBooks last week launching Fighting
to Choose: The Abortion Rights Struggle in New Zealand
by Alison McCulloch.
Dame Margaret Sparrow has kindly supplied her speech notes to give you a flavour of the night. There were a lot of familiar faces there but also, wonderfully, a bunch of fresh younger faces too.
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This
book came about largely as a result of a generous bequest to WONAAC.
Originally it was going to be a history of WONAAC – and yes it does
that well - reminding us of WONAAC’s colourful history, the many
campaigns of the 1970s and 80s and a chapter on those outrageous
Double
Standard posters
from 1978-1985 – but in the process of writing this history the
manuscript grew into a much more comprehensive account as the book’s
subtitle indicates: The
Abortion Rights Struggle in New Zealand.
Who
better to write a feminist pro-choice history of this struggle than
Alison? She is an acclaimed, prize-winning journalist and editor with
over 20 years experience both in New Zealand and in America – so
she brings both a local and international perspective. In 1990 she
joined the new Rainbow Warrior on its trip to Mururoa sending her
reports to The
Dominion and
the New
Zealand Listener.
She has a BA in political history from Victoria University and a PhD
in Philosophy from Denver and New York. In 1999 her team at the
Denver
Post won
the Pulitzer Prize in journalism for their coverage of the Columbine
High School massacre.
Her
writing style is that of a reporter from the battle lines but she is
generous in acknowledging the work of others and when it helps to
make a point she quotes directly from other writers. If she has one
fault it is that she is incurably modest.
Her
research has been meticulous and well documented in the copious end
notes. She has delved into boxes of papers in libraries, waded
through court reports and Hansard, interviewed 17 participants and in
the process recovered much information some of which will be new to
readers. She has brought into focus a number of newspaper articles
that made an impact at the time and which I am grateful to be
reminded about – for example on Pg 68 the open letter from James K
Baxter to the Catholic Church – a gem.
She
has divided the book into two parts – the first and larger part is
devoted to the struggles of the 70s – the opening of the clinic (39
years ago on the 17th
of this month), the Woolnough trial, the Royal Commission and the
1978 legislation. I particularly appreciated Chapter 8 on “The
Report” exposing the many flaws and weaknesses of the Royal
Commission Report. So often it is regarded as an authoritative
document and is still referred to in court judgments but in Alison’s
words on Pg 153 “The Commission’s report was filled with internal
inconsistencies, logical errors, unfounded assumptions and arguably
biased consideration of evidence”. Her critique is perceptive and
incisive.
The
second part deals with 80s and beyond up to the present day. Alison
analyses why we ended up with such a bad law and argues that it is
not good enough to leave things alone just because women can get
abortions. The only reason they can get abortions is because the
certifying consultants currently are able to give the law a liberal
interpretation. But as she says on pg 274 “The current situation is
tenuous at best, enshrined in no law, championed by no political
party and currently under siege” [end of quote.]What we need is a
way to maintain good safe medical services in an environment that
respects women’s autonomy. Taking abortion out of the Crimes Act
would be a good start.
In
the last few decades there have been many changes in society and many
shifts in attitude. This book will make you angry but it will also
make you reflect on your own values. It certainly made me question
mine. In the 70s I felt more comfortable with the more moderate
stance of ALRANZ, with its emphasis on safety and access – what
Alison refers to as the conservative medico-humanitarian approach as
opposed to the more radical feminist right to choose approach of
WONAAC. But over the years I have changed and so has ALRANZ,
appreciating the need for a greater emphasis on women’s rights. I
look forward to the new leadership in ALRANZ, under President Dr
Morgan Healey, spearheading further changes.
One
of the great strengths of Alison’s book is that she has been
involved in both WONAAC and ALRANZ and understands only too well the
common ground as well as the differences between the two approaches
and how in the future both must be utilised for the benefit of women.
Understanding
our history is essential as we contemplate the future. My dream for
the future is much more ambitious than Alison’s. I dream of a time
in the future when people have much better methods of contraception
to prevent unplanned pregnancies in the first place and when these
occur (as they always will) there will be a safe, reliable and
private method of abortion making politicians, lawyers and doctors
largely irrelevant.
But
until then we will need to be resourceful and this book will help us
to avoid some of the mistakes of the past. It is a must read for
anyone interested in women’s issues and reproductive rights. It
will be referred to by many in the years ahead. Thank you Alison for
providing us with such a useful resource.
Margaret Sparrow, May 1, 2013.
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