Tauranga abortion clinic's legality queried

Tauranga's family planning clinic is now the first of its kind offering an abortion pill. Photo/file

Anti-abortion group Right to Life has taken Family Planning to the High Court over the legality of the medical abortion services provided by its Tauranga branch.

The branch is the only Family Planing premises to be granted a licence by the Abortion Supervisory Board.

Right to Life argued in the High Court at Wellington yesterday that the Family Planning centre in Tauranga was unlawful because it only performed medical abortions.

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Clinics must offer both surgical and medical abortions in order to be legal, the anti-abortion group said.

Lawyer Peter Mckenzie, QC, told the court abortions must be defined as including both procedures. He said as a result, clinics could not operate by offering only one option.

Ahead of yesterday's hearing, Right to Life spokesman Ken Orr told Newstalk ZB the group had been forced to take matters into its own hands following a refusal from the abortion supervisory committee to seek clarification on the act.

Mr Orr said the act did not allow for licences solely pertaining to medical abortions to be issued. "It all revolves around section 21, 2b, which states, quote 'that there are, in the institution, adequate surgical and other facilities and adequate and competent staff for the safe performance of abortions' that was written in 1977 and it relates solely to surgical abortions," he said.

"There is no allowance made in the act for the issuing of exclusively a licence for medical abortions."

Mr Orr said a win would be significant because he did not believe legislation would be amended to allow for medical abortion licences following the trial.

"If we win I would expect that the abortion supervisory committee would communicate with the Minister of Justice and ask that the act be amended," he said.

The hearing continues.