Women are waiting nearly a month on average to get an abortion - and they feel that is too long, research by Auckland University has found.Click through for the whole Herald article (from NZPA) and you can find the full journal article here.
The study, published in the journal Reproductive Health, looked at the timeliness of services provided by nine New Zealand clinics.
More than half of women at the clinics were having abortions in or after their 10th week of pregnancy, with an average wait of 25 days after seeing their referring doctor.
Lead researcher Martha Silva said abortion was a safe procedure but the risk of complications increased with gestational age.
Clinics and referring doctors needed to make an effort to reduce waiting times, she said.
In an anonymous questionnaire, 38 per cent of women felt they had waited too long and would have wanted the procedure sooner, while 15 per cent thought the wait was too long, but did not mind waiting.
...Part of the delay was caused by the requirement to gain the approval of two certifying consultants before having an abortion.
Update: I've written at my everyday blog, The Hand Mirror, about my issues with the misleading photo and caption used by the Herald in their online version of this story. Further update: The Herald has now changed the picture to one of Steve Chadwick, with reference to her possible Bill. Thanks to everyone who raised the issue with The Herald for bringing about this positive change. Boganette has also written about the fetus picture issue today, as well as giving Mothers For Choice a nice promo.
