There are certain laws (or lack of them) that we take for granted, rarely spending time to contemplate their existence or the effort that went into abolishing or constructing them. In Portugal, like many other European countries, abortion laws are liberalized. This step was taken on the 10th of April in 2007, allowing the procedure to be performed on-demand if a woman's pregnancy has not exceeded its tenth week. Although there are many people still fighting against abortion, supporting their views with various strong pro-life arguments, it is widely accepted by the population that it ultimately comes down to the women’s right to decide to go through with the procedure or not, after all, the impact that certain decisions will have with affect her body and her life. It is also legislated that doctors may refuse to perform the abortion (under a conscientious objection clause) as it goes against many doctors’ religious, cultural and political ideology. 

We must also look through a global lens at the controversial issue, and in our current world, there are 26 countries where all abortions are illegal, regardless if the pregnancy is a result of rape or incest. In 37 countries, abortion is illegal unless it saves the life of the mother and in others, it is illegal unless used to save the mother’s life or preserve her health. Each country moves at their own pace, respecting the wishes of the population and introducing/abolishing laws with regard to their country’s views and needs. This week happens to be an important milestone in the history of abortion, as, on the 18th of March, New Zealand passed a law decriminalizing abortion. It’s interesting to note that, in contrast to the process in Portugal, in New Zealand, the issue was set to be voted by the means of a national referendum, which was then later rejected by the government as they proceeded straight to a parliamentary vote. This could possibly be due to the reluctance shown by the authorities to bring this matter before a divided public. The debate has been, since the 1970s, on standby when it was last seriously considered and according to The New York Times it has “taken so long to return to Parliament because of “how unbelievably dreadful” the conversation had been in the past.” 

As stated in a The Guardian article, up until now “abortion was allowed only in cases of incest, “mental sub normality” or foetal abnormality, or where the physical or mental health of the mother was at serious risk”. Under the 1960’s Crime Law act, it was technically illegal to get an abortion if the woman was not found in the aforementioned specific conditions (although women who underwent abortions were not liable for prosecution). This caused distress, as women experiencing unwanted pregnancies were forced to lie about their situations or, later on in 1998, go to Australia to carry out the procedure there if they could afford to travel.  Even after excessive measures were taken by women to apply for the abortion, it was shown that “2500 women were denied abortions in the past decades” cited by The New York Times. This is mainly due to the fact that, contrary to women, doctors who conceded to carry out the abortion that didn’t match the conditions required, risked a 14-year sentence in jail.

From now on, New Zealand will treat abortion as a health matter instead of a criminal one, having removed it from the Crimes Act and allowing women to choose to proceed with the abortion up to 20 weeks after consultation with a GP, and promoting counselling options for women choosing an abortion. New Zealand’s justice minister, Andrew Little, stated that “for over 40 years, abortion has been the only medical procedure considered a crime in New Zealand. But from now abortions will be rightly treated as a health issue,” To conclude, it seems that New Zealand has taken a step in the right direction as it joins other developed countries in advocating for human rights such as those related to health matters.