16 Dec 2009

Abortion report outdated - Northland Health

9:54 pm on 16 December 2009

Northland Health says figures that show Northland women are having later abortions than women in other regions are out-dated.

The Abortion Supervisory Committee has raised concern in its annual report to Parliament that many women can't arrange abortions before they're nine weeks pregnant.

The report shows wait-times in Northland as the longest, with half of all abortions done at more than 11 weeks' gestation, when there is more risk of haemorrhage and infection.

But Northland Health says the figures relate to 2008, and in the past five months the median time has fallen to 9.6 weeks.