About | HeinOnline Law Journal Library | HeinOnline Law Journal Library | HeinOnline
LOG IN
LOG IN

18 Feminist L. Stud. 1 (2010)

handle is hein.journals/femlst18 and id is 1 raw text is: Fem Leg Stud (2010) 18:1-23 DOI 10.1007/s10691-010-9140-7 The Psychiatric Masquerade: The Mental Health Exception in New Zealand Abortion Law Charlotte Leslie Published online: 1 April 2010 © Springer Science+Business Media B.V. 2010 Abstract Although nearly 99% of abortions in New Zealand are permitted in order to prevent danger or injury to a woman's mental health (the 'mental health exception'), the reasons why mental health considerations should effectively control access to abortion are not altogether clear. This article analyses abortion case law, statutes and debates from New Zealand, the United Kingdom and the United States to attempt to explain the legal connection between mental health considerations and access to abortion. The article argues that the mental health exception evolved in response to a change in the predominant construction of women seeking abortion from 'selfish' to 'desperate', coinciding with increasing societal subscription to an expanded view of psychological harm. By conceptually accommodating both con- structions of women seeking abortion, the article argues that the mental health exception usefully enabled society generally to proscribe the practice of abortion on the basis that it was unnatural and irrational, while nevertheless permitting it in cases considered to be deserving. Keywords Abortion - Discourse analysis - History - Mental health Psychology - Regulation Introduction If Professor David Fergusson appeared sheepish when discussing the explosive results of his study into the psychological effects of abortion in early 2006, his discomfort was understandable. The openly pro-choice doctor expected to find no evidence that abortion had harmful consequences when he analysed the mental C. Leslie (E) Meredith Connell, Barristers & Solicitors, 55-65 Shortland Street, Auckland, New Zealand e-mail: charlotte.leslie@meredithconnell.co.nz I_ Springer

What Is HeinOnline?

HeinOnline is a subscription-based resource containing thousands of academic and legal journals from inception; complete coverage of government documents such as U.S. Statutes at Large, U.S. Code, Federal Register, Code of Federal Regulations, U.S. Reports, and much more. Documents are image-based, fully searchable PDFs with the authority of print combined with the accessibility of a user-friendly and powerful database. For more information, request a quote or trial for your organization below.



Short-term subscription options include 24 hours, 48 hours, or 1 week to HeinOnline.

Purchase Access

Contact us for annual subscription options:

Contact Us

Already a HeinOnline Subscriber?

Log In

profiles profiles most