Martin Johnston, New Zealand Herald, May 6, 2008
Girls may be given free access to the emergency contraceptive pill at their local Auckland pharmacies in a bid to reduce teen pregnancies and abortions.
The medicine can already be sold by many pharmacists without a doctor’s prescription, including to girls without parental consent.
An Auckland District Health Board committee will tomorrow consider a staff proposal to make the pill free through community pharmacies in Auckland city.
People given the Levonelle 1 pill by their pharmacist would also be offered a packet of condoms and a pamphlet on sexual health and contraception.
“We are wanting to reduce the level of teen pregnancies and the impact that they have on the community and on the families themselves,” a board planning and funding manager, Wendy Hoskin, said yesterday.
A similar Waikato health board scheme for women and girls under 25, set up last year to try to reduce teenage pregnancy and abortions, aims to supply the emergency pill for free to nearly 3000 people a year through pharmacies.
The number of births to teenagers nationally has been fairly stable this century, although the abortion rate among girls under 15, while slightly less than one per thousand, has increased by half since the mid-1990s.
The $300,000 Auckland scheme is a pilot that would run until the money is spent, which could take a year. Any recommendation to make the scheme permanent would depend on how many people used the service, particularly in “high-needs areas”—those of low income and/or high Maori or Pacific populations.
Conservative groups yesterday objected on grounds that parents would be left out of decision-making over their children and that emergency contraception can sometimes be abortion.
An emergency contraceptive or “morning after” pill generally costs patients around $35 at pharmacies, unless they tap into state funding. It is free at the Auckland Regional Sexual Health Service and, for young women and girls, at some GP clinics. Family Planning clinics offer free sexual-health consultations to those under 22, but there is a $3 prescription charge.
Families First spokesman Bob McCoskrie said the move to widen access to the medicine would exclude parents.
“Making it free and even more accessible is going to continue to alienate parents from the role they should be involved in.”
Brendan Malone, spokesman for the Catholic Church-aligned Family Life International group, said widening access was a “deceptive” response to teen pregnancy and abortions.
“It’s deceptive in that it seems like a good idea but is not addressing the root causes of the problem and creates other problems.
“Emergency contraceptive can act as an [abortion] drug. If conception has occurred the embryo is flushed from the body because the lining of the uterus is made unfriendly for implantation.”
Auckland Women’s Health Council co-ordinator Lynda Williams said the Auckland board scheme was a good development.
“It’s one of a number of strategies that could be introduced to reduce the rate of abortion.”
* TEEN BIRTHS
In 2004, 0.3 per cent of births nationally were to mothers aged under 16.
6.9 per cent were to mothers aged 16-19.
Among Maori, 0.8 per cent of births were to mothers under 16; and 16 per cent to those 16-19.
For Europeans, 0.14 per cent were under 16 and 4.4 per cent 16-19.
Among Pacific people, 0.25 per cent of births were to mothers under 16 and 7.6 per cent were 16-19.
In 2006, of 17,934 abortions, 0.6 per cent were under 15, 22.2 per cent were 15-19.
Original article
(Posted on May 7, 2008)
Comments
The Maori, and now Pacific Islanders, of New Zealand emulate the worst of “black culture”:
It’s almost impossible to visit any North Island city, or town, without finding a mob of thuggish Maori - or the increasing number of Pacific Islanders, along with a few “whigger” cronies - with all the swagger and vulgarity of those black youths you other American Renaissance members are so fond of:
The only thing I can’t understand is why so many white Britons are fleeing to New Zealand as, outside the South Island, the “browning” of the North Island seems only to be offset by the “yellowing” implemented by the good PM Clark.
New Zealand is irreversibly doomed.
Posted by Obscuratus at 6:29 PM on May 7
I wouldn’t hand them out to whites unless they had slept with a black…but hey….blacks can have all they want as can the mexicans, indians, muslims…ect…you know all those desirable folks running around our country collecting more welfare for more babies and getting all those benefits for NOTHING….may as well give that pill FREE TOO —WITH PLEASURE!!
Posted by lydia at 9:46 PM on May 7
New Zealand is irreversibly doomed.
Posted by Obscuratus at 6:29 PM on May 7
Gee, I hope not. I plan to go and live there soon.
I have hopes for NZ because of the number of British, Rhodesian and South African immigrants in recent years. These are people fleeing the third world, and they will vote in NZ. Even the blissfully unaware Kiwis are fed up with their government, and Clark is expected to be voted out in the next election.
The biggest threat to NZ is immigration from China.
However, I believe NZ is planning to restrict immigration (in absolute numbers) quite soon. The plan is to stabilize the population at a little over 4 million.
Posted by AnalogMan at 1:43 PM on May 8
“desirable folks running around our country collecting more welfare for more babies and getting all those benefits for NOTHING….may as well give that pill FREE TOO —WITH PLEASURE!!”
Yeah, but they forget their pills.
I still like my idea:
Ya want welfare? Okay. First, a shot of Depo-Provera. Now here’s your check. Show up in 3 months for preg test, another shot of Depo-Provera and another check.
Some crazy ACLU loon will call it genocide. I call it being nice and logical.
Posted by at 2:26 PM on May 8
For a frightening view of contemporary Maori thug culture I recommend the movie: Once We Were Warriors (1994) It will scare the daylights out of you.
Posted by Sardonicus at 2:37 PM on May 8
I have hopes for NZ because of the number of British, Rhodesian and South African immigrants in recent years. These are people fleeing the third world, and they will vote in NZ. Even the blissfully unaware Kiwis are fed up with their government, and Clark is expected to be voted out in the next election.
Most of those whites emigating to New Zealand are the “liberal refuse”, kind of like international white flight:
Despite only leaving their former-majority-white neighbourhoods upon the entrance of Hispanics, or blacks, or Pakistanis or what-have-you into the aforementioned neighbourhood, they will indignantly sqawk that “they aren’t racist”, and that “they had Hispanic/black/Pakistani friends back home”.
Also, as per Clark, there isn’t much difference between the two parties (Labour and National) here, except superficial ones - imagine Labour as Democrats, and National as Republicans for example.
The biggest threat to NZ is immigration from China.
As per “Chinese immigration”, according to PC doctrine only Maori are allowed to oppose East Asian immigration - and only because they are afraid of losing their (growing) hold, and want New Zealand to be “browned” by Pacific Islanders.
Our largest city doesn’t resemble “anything” white - instead it is “Noo China”, “Noo Pacifika”, “Noo India”…
However, I believe NZ is planning to restrict immigration (in absolute numbers) quite soon. The plan is to stabilize the population at a little over 4 million.
I hope you’re right on this one…
Posted by Obscuratus at 9:19 PM on May 8
Most of the Europeans who came here have no idea why they fled, just that the conditions were not right to bring up a family back in Europe.
The population in New Zealand is already 4.2 million and increasing at about 40,000 a year (nett).
Posted by A. Windaus at 1:10 AM on May 12
