More women were able to access earlier abortions in the year to December 2017, new statistics show.  

Family Planning chief executive Jackie Edmond says close to a quarter of abortions happened before eight weeks, and a further 18 per cent during the eighth week. Ms Edmond says alongside the overall declining trend in the number of abortions during the last two decades, the improvement in early access is a feature of the Statistics New Zealand data released today.

“Women need to be able to access abortion services as early as possible – these figures show that providers are working hard to make that happen,” Ms Edmond says.

While providers are doing the best they can, our current abortion law causes unnecessary delays for women seeking abortion. While there is evidence of improvement, in New Zealand only 59 per cent of abortions were performed before the 10th week, compared to 81 per cent in the United Kingdom.

A new legal framework for abortion would enable earlier access, which is considered best practice.