Abortion statistics
Abortion is defined as foetal loss excluding stillbirths, usually during the first 20 weeks of gestation. Induced abortions are those initiated voluntarily with the intention of terminating a pregnancy. All other abortions are called 'spontaneous', even if an external cause is involved, such as injury or high fever.
All abortion statistics and derived abortion rates included in this release are based on legally induced abortions registered in New Zealand. No information is available on spontaneous or illegal abortions.
Grounds for abortion
In New Zealand the grounds on which an abortion is permitted are: to save the life of the woman; to preserve the physical health of the woman; to preserve the mental health of the woman; foetal impairment; and rape or incest. Rape in itself is not a ground for abortion, but may be taken into account under medical indications. A pregnancy occurring as a result of incest can be terminated on juridical grounds, while a pregnancy resulting from rape may be terminated under medical indications.
Despite there being nine grounds for terminating a pregnancy (these include combinations of grounds, eg mental and physical health danger), 98–99 percent of all abortions in any year are performed because of serious danger to the mental health of the woman.
Termination of pregnancy
In general, an abortion can only be performed by a registered physician in an institution licensed under the Contraception, Sterilisation and Abortion Act 1977. Abortions can be performed in an institution with a limited license only during the first 12 weeks of pregnancy. Institutions with a full license can permit the performance of abortions regardless of the gestation period. The woman must obtain the approval of two certifying consultants, one of which must be an obstetrician or a gynaecologist.
Source of abortion statistics
Abortion statistics are obtained from the Abortion Supervisory Committee. For every abortion carried out as approved under the Contraception, Sterilisation, and Abortion Act 1977, a 'Notification of Abortion' form (ASC Form No. 4) must be filled in by the licensed abortion institution. This is then sent to the Abortion Supervisory Committee.
Changes in the collection of abortion statistics
From 2002 marital status was no longer requested on the Abortion notification form.
Changes have also been made in the collection of ethnic data. The ethnic question from 2002 onwards aligns with the 2001 Census question on ethnicity. In this release, each abortion has been included in every ethnic group specified. For this reason, some abortions are counted more than once and ethnic group totals sum to more than the New Zealand total. Ethnic data for these later years is not strictly comparable with ethnic data for earlier years.
In 2004, a new question asking for 'domicile code' was added to ASC Form No 4. As a result, abortions by region are now available. However, due to different rates of not specified region across hospitals, regional data should be interpreted with care. This is the only subnational data currently available.
Live births
Live births refer to live births registered in New Zealand by date of registration.
Rounding
Abortion figures contained in the tables attached to this release are unrounded. All other figures have been rounded. Derived figures (for example, abortion rates and ratios) have been calculated using unrounded data.
More information
For more information, follow the link from the Technical Notes of this release on the Statistics New Zealand website.
Copyright
Information obtained from Statistics New Zealand may be freely used, reproduced, or quoted unless otherwise specified. In all cases Statistics New Zealand must be acknowledged as the source.
Liability
While care has been used in processing, analysing and extracting information, Statistics New Zealand gives no warranty that the information supplied is free from error. Statistics NZ shall not be liable for any loss suffered through the use, directly or indirectly, of any information, product or service.
Timing
Timed statistical releases are delivered using postal and electronic services provided by third parties. Delivery of these releases may be delayed by circumstances outside the control of Statistics New Zealand. Statistics New Zealand accepts no responsibility for any such delays.