28 November 2011 FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE

ALRANZ Pays Tribute to Departing MP Steve Chadwick

ALRANZ today paid tribute to retiring Labour MP Steve Chadwick for her tireless efforts in the struggle for reproductive justice in New Zealand.

“Steve Chadwick is an articulate and engaging campaigner for women’s health rights, and we acknowledge her huge contribution to national politics,” ALRANZ President Dr Morgan Healey said today, in the wake of Chadwick’s announcement of her resignation.

“There are many politicians who acknowledge, in private, that our abortion laws are outdated, unworkable, and unfair, but far fewer of them are prepared to front up to challenge our damaging laws in public. Steve has always been principled and courageous in taking up this important issue, and we’re very proud of the support she has given to abortion law reform,” Dr Healey said.

“Steve has decades of experience championing women’s health – as a midwife, family planning figure and later as a politician – and her work in Parliament to have abortion decriminalised was the logical extension of her practical work in the community as a health professional,” Dr Healey said. “We wish Steve Chadwick all the best. Abortion is a health issue, not a crime: we need more politicians to learn from Steve’s insight and clarity.”
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