‘I died inside’: Woman holds back tears in abortion law submission

NewsHub 29 October 2019
Family First Comment: “My baby did not have the ability to speak for his or her right to keep living. In turn, I lost my voice too… I became very depressed, anxious, timid, traumatised.”

A woman held back tears while submitting on proposed abortion law changes, urging MPs to ensure pregnant women have access to all the information they need.

Liri Kazazi told the Abortion Legislation Committee she was 17 years old when she had an abortion at a clinic in Wellington in 1981 – and regrets it to this day.

“I did not know what abortion would be like – how easy it would be to get, how devastating it would be,” she told the committee. “When my baby died, I died inside too.”

Kazazi said she did not receive enough information to make an informed decision when she went to the abortion clinic as a teenager and is urging the committee to impose a mandatory counselling and stand-down period.

“I believe that the first step a woman makes to reach out for some help… there needs to be some good support right at the get-go and that there be good consultation… and that be away from the abortion clinic.”

Kazazi said her child would be 38 today, and she often wonders what he or she would be like as a person.
READ MORE: https://www.newshub.co.nz/home/politics/2019/10/i-died-inside-woman-holds-back-tears-in-abortion-law-submission.html