(upbeat music)
- [Announcer] Who are
the Abortion Mythbusters?
Alex Casey, a human adult
woman with a lotta questions.
Terry Bellamak, president of ALRANZ,
with decades of experience
in reproductive rights.
Together, they won't
just tell abortion myths.
They'll put them to the test.
(explosion crashes)
(metal clangs)
- Welcome to the Mythbusters lab.
- Hi.
- I brought you here
today because I have found
all of the common myths
that people hold very true,
very dear to their heart
and love to shout about.
I might as well group these all together
and put them to you so
we can bust these myths.
Is that all right with you?
- Let's bust 'em.
- Okay, so they first one
that comes up constantly,
abortion in New Zealand
is really easy to get.
- I wish that was true.
(both laugh)
It's not easy to get an abortion here.
There's a lot of hoops
you have to jump through.
Abortion is still in the Crimes Act.
(metal rattling)
(metal thudding)
- That's crazy.
- I know.
- Is there any other kind
of medical procedure,
where you can go up to a doctor and say,
"I have this problem that I need sorting
"from a medical professional,"
and they can say, "No." (laughs)
- Yes.
(Alex Laughs)
Contraception.
- Right.
- (sighs) Yeah.
- 'Cause that kind of relates
to one of the next myths,
which is that people freely use abortion
as a form of contraceptive.
(laughs)
I don't know why you're laughing.
Hundreds of people believe
this to be true on Facebook.
(laughs)
- Yeah, anyone who
believes that has clearly
never accessed abortion care.
One of the commonest reasons
for seeking abortion care
is that your contraception failed.
(metal clanging)
(metal thudding)
- One of the other myths.
Abortion is often sought out by young,
irresponsible high school girls
who don't know what they're doing,
don't know what's going on.
Is that true?
- Nope! (laughs)
- [Alex] Interesting.
- Surprise, yeah!
(both laughing)
- It's almost like people don't know
what they're talking about.
(both laughing)
- Actually, the majority
of people who get abortions
in New Zealand are already parents.
So, you know, it's also not
true that they don't know
what they're missing. (laughs)
They know what they're missing.
- Right.
- In a lot of cases,
it's people who feel that they just
don't have the resources,
whether financial or just personal,
to deal with another child.
(metal clanging)
(metal thudding)
- Another myth.
The foetus feels pain.
- Medical authorities
have said that a foetus
has the nervous system connections
that are necessary in order to feel pain
right around the 28th to 30th week.
Until then, you know, it's,
there's nothing with which to feel.
(metal clanging)
(metal thudding)
- So another myth is that nobody wants
to talk about abortion.
It's sort of the final taboo
that's only gonna end in, like,
terrible, tense discussions.
- I think it's not that people don't want
to talk about abortion.
I think people don't feel
safe talking about abortion.
I mean, think about it.
One in four people with
uteruses in New Zealand
will get an abortion between
the ages of 15 and 45.
Everybody knows someone
who's had an abortion.
And if you think you don't know someone
who's received abortion care,
you might wanna think about why that is.
(metal clanging)
(metal thudding)
- There's a myth perhaps held even by me
that sometimes I feel a little powerless
to effect change in New Zealand.
What can people do?
- Not so!
This is New Zealand's moment (laughs)
to step up and let the
select committee know
what you want them to do.
(upbeat rock music)
- [Alex] Abortion?
(metal clanging)
(metal thudding)
Public submissions are now being called
for the Abortion Legislation Bill.
The closing date for submissions
is Thursday, 19th of September.
You can visit parliament.nz
for more information.
It's going pretty well.
- Yeah, this is activism.
(sighs)
- [Alex] Abortion, for it, against it?
What do ya' reckon?
