Reproductive Choice is the Mark of A Civilised Society

"The latest outburst from Graham Capill of the Christian Heritage Party is one excellent reason for his party's pathetic showing in most opinion polls, where they receive barely one per cent of the party vote."

"Capill draws attention to the alleged failure of the Family Planning Association when it comes to the issue of sex education. Why target them when it is the half of all New Zealand high schools that refuse to teach sex education that are the real problems? Particularly when unrepresentative conservative Christian lobby groups encourage them to do so." Mr Craig Young, ALRANZ Research Officer said, in response to the latest Christian Heritage Party attacks on reproductive freedom for women.

"And why should the Minister of Health refuse to release mifepristone for use within licensed premises? European and US pharmaceutical regulatory agencies have given it a clean bill of health." He added that ALRANZ had supported RU486 for over a decade.

"Once more, it seems that ALRANZ must reiterate that New Zealand must follow the lead of the Netherlands over its approach to sex education and subsidised contraception. Capill has no qualifications in reproductive and sexual health that would entitle him to be taken seriously in that area."

Contact: Dr Margaret Sparrow National President ALRANZ Box 28008, Wellington (04) 4759886

Craig Young National Research Officer ALRANZ Box 28008, Wellington (06) 3569099/ 7750

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Gordon Campbell: On the Sony cyber attack

Given the layers of meta-irony involved, the saga of the Sony cyber attack seemed at the outset more like a snarky European art film than a popcorn entry at the multiplex.

Yet now with (a) President Barack Obama weighing in on the side of artistic freedom and calling for the US to make a ‘proportionate response’quickly followed by (b) North Korea’s entire Internet service going down, and with both these events being followed by (c) Sony deciding to backtrack and release The Interview film that had made it a target for the dastardly North Koreans in the first place, then ay caramba…the whole world will now be watching how this affair pans out. More>>