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Salient. Victoria University Student Newspaper. Volume 33 No. 15 1970

Pregnancy Tests

Pregnancy Tests

New Zealand's denial of racist orientation is rapidly being exposed as false. Last week's focal point on racism was the controversy over pregnancy tests for single Samoan woman wishing to come to New Zealand. This, along with recent developments in Trade Unions and Maori affairs, is bringing attention to the Governments facist attitudes.

The exposure of the fundamental purpose for such pregnancy tests has awakened the Samoan people to what New Zealand's official attitude is towards Polynesians and has forced the Western Samoan Prime Minister to re-examine the pregnancy test question. Why did the Government over-react to the accusation of racism if the accusation had no foundation? Samoans, as all Polynesians who come to New Zealand, are bought in at the lowest economic and social scale so they are beneficial to private enterprise. No firm employs pakehas or women when Polynesians and women can be employed with less capital outlay on wages. Now, having a Samoan woman only working 4—5 months instead of the full 6 months means her economic potential has not been fully exploited, therefore pregnancy tests are necessary to avoid this situation. The other consequence of these women being pregnant on arrival is that the birth will be in New Zealand making the baby a New Zealand citizen. This creates great alarm in government circles because this is a loophole by which the mother can remain in New Zealand, thus screwing the system.

Pregnancy tests should be abandoned. In order to dispel, however, the racist basis of this requirement the Government will have to enforce it for all single women or not at all. Now Australian women are going to be more discriminated against than the 10—15% of pregnant Samoan women if the test is enforced for all women. The logical consequence of New Zealand enforcing pregnancy tests on single girls will be the implementation of such tests by Australia, thereby affecting those New Zealand women who go to Australia for abortions and confinement. So Mr Holyoake—Marshall your actions could rebound. Not only will we have the highest illegitimacy rate but the figures of the number of New Zealand women seeking abortions or covering up their unmarried motherhood status will be public. Such statistics will further illustrate the vast social-economic contradictions of 'wonderful' New Zealand.

Adaire Hannah