Proposed amendment
Hon Alfred Ngaro, in Committee, to move the following amendment:
Clause 7
In clause 7, before the cross-heading before new section 19 (page 8, before line 29), insert:
Cultural considerations
18 Cultural considerations to be recognised
(1)
Any person or organisation accorded a duty or responsibility under this Act must perform those duties or responsibilities in a manner that recognises, in relation to a woman requesting abortion services,—
(a)
the woman’s ethnic background:
(b)
the social attitudes or customs of the woman and others within the woman’s community, including proper recognition of—
(i)
the importance and significance to the woman of her ties with her family, whānau, hapū, iwi, and family group:
(ii)
the contribution those ties make to the woman’s wellbeing:
(iii)
the woman’s cultural and ethnic identity, language, and religious or ethical beliefs:
(c)
the woman’s spiritual beliefs, which may include a lack of spiritual beliefs.
(2)
A provider of abortion services must ensure that the services of a competent interpreter are provided for a woman who requests abortion services, if—
(a)
the first or preferred language of the woman is a language other than English, including the Māori language and New Zealand Sign Language:
(b)
the woman is unable, because of disability, to understand or communicate in English.