The tide turns

  1. Introduction
  2. The Situation Today
  3. How legal abortion came to New Zealand
  4. Overseas influences
  5. Media Influences
  6. Opponents of abortion get organized
  7. The Society for the Protection of the Unborn Child
  8. Early expansion
  9. Capital politics
  10. First clinic licenced
  11. The tide turns
  12. Pro-abortion initiatives
  13. A crucial court decision
  14. The Status of the Unborn Child Bill
  15. Seeking urgency
  16. Counter move
  17. The Vote
  18. SPUC moves on
The end of 1977 marks the highpoint of SPUC's success as a pressure group. It's lobbying skills and influence were widely acknowledged. The NZ Listener in February, 1978, ran a profile by journalist Warwick Roger, entitled "SPUC: a seven-year success story". But over the next years, a series of court decisions would nullify the gains and ironically place certifying consultants and the clinics beyond the reach of the law.

Abortion was increasingly seen as a liberal, compassionate, "women's issue". As Roger notes: "When SPUC held a media forum in Wellington in 1976, 40 journalists were expected, most of them from the parliamentary press gallery. 16 turned up, none of them from the press gallery."