The area was bordered by Arawa St, Ranolf St, Lake Rd and Rangiuru St and included the road corridors and Pukeroa St, which ran through the middle.
Te Whatu Ora Lakes operations group director Alan Wilson said patients previously needed to drive or walk past anti-abortion protesters on their way to and from Te Aka Tauawhi Tangata Women’s Clinic.
“Our clinic staff regularly receive feedback from patients saying the protesters’ presence has upset and distressed them.
“They also felt judged by seeing protesters and their placards at the entrances of Rotorua Hospital, immediately prior to attending the clinic.”
A Ministry of Health spokesman said a safe area could be up to 150 metres around a place where abortion services were provided.
Banned behaviours in that area included trying to dissuade people from accessing the service and photographing or videoing them in a way that would cause emotional distress.
“There is a history of protest activity and other behaviours outside known abortion providers around the country that would be prohibited within safe areas,” the spokesman said.
He said patients and staff said the protests impacted their feelings of safety. Staff considered increased security measures, while patients felt “further stigmatised”.
Anyone convicted of banned behaviour in a safe area can be fined up to $1000.
He said police took a case-by-case approach in assessing whether the behaviour potentially breached rules.
“A graduated police response is focused on education, engagement, encouragement, prior to enforcement.”
He said safe areas were designed to protect the safety and wellbeing of people accessing and providing abortion services and to respect their privacy and dignity.
Under the Code of Health and Disability Consumers’ Rights, people accessing a health service had the right to be treated with respect and to freedom from discrimination, coercion, harassment and exploitation.
The Ministry of Health website described how providers, such as Te Whatu Ora Lakes, were expected to support enforcement through preventative measures such as installing signage and training staff on banned behaviours and de-escalation procedures.
Wilson said most of the protesters were peaceful, but their presence was still distressing.
“Our security staff are aware of the implementation of the safe area and are well trained in de-escalating incidents.
”We are not intending to have signage as it is not required.”
No incidents have been reported since the safe area came into effect.
Abortion is legal in New Zealand, and reforms in 2020 decriminalised it and made it easier to access. The legislation passed in Parliament by a narrow margin of 68 votes to 51.
Rotorua resident Ryan Gray heard about the safe area and wrote to the Rotorua Daily Post supporting it.
He said being free from what in his view was discrimination and feeling safe accessing health services should be basic rights for all.
In his view: “I don’t expect to be hassled seeking help for illness, and neither should people who have made the arduous decision to end their pregnancy.”
He said, in his opinion, there had been a “small but persistent group” of anti-abortion protesters who “believe they have the right to tell others what they should do with their bodies”.
Patients of no other health service faced that level of what he believed was “intimidation”.
He said he believed protesters may feel they were supporting a worthy cause, but would have “no idea about the circumstances of the person seeking an abortion”.
“And no matter the circumstances, people have the right to seek health services, and do not deserve judgement for doing so.”
Right To Life New Zealand spokesperson Ken Orr said he had written extensively on the safe area legislation, which he described as “contentious”.
Orr claimed the legislation sought to address a problem that did not exist.
Orr said, in his opinion: ‘‘The purpose of this legislation is to protect the abortion industry, which does not want women to change their minds. The Government also wishes to suppress all dissent against [abortion], which is promoted as a health service.”
Banned behaviour
Activities prohibited in safe areas, such as that around Rotorua Hospital, include:
- Blocking entrances to premises or preventing people from entering or leaving;
- Photographing or videoing someone in a way that is likely to cause emotional distress to someone accessing or providing abortion-related services;
- Approaching a person to provide information about abortion services (unless part of the provision of services);
- Approaching a person to attempt to dissuade them from accessing these services;
- Providing anti-abortion pamphlets or similar materials;
- Protesting about matters relating to the provision of abortion services.
Source: Ministry of Health.
Laura Smith is a Local Democracy Reporting journalist based at the Rotorua Daily Post. She previously reported general news for the Otago Daily Times and Southland Express, and has been a journalist for four years.
Public Interest Journalism funded through NZ on Air
