National Women's Abortion Conference:

"No woman can call herself free who Joes not own and control her own body. No woman can call herself free until she can choose whether she will or will not become a mother."

Over sixty years after Margaret Sanger, the famous American birth control pioneer, said those words New Zealand women are still denied that right.

The 1975 National election manifesto stated that National's plans for women's rights would go beyond the window dressing of other parties. This "window dressing" under Labour had resulted in the passing of Wall's Hospitals Amendment Bill and the trial of Dr Jim Woolnough. But what has National offered? A promise to make Wall's Bill "water-tight". (Legislation has already been drawn up which will close the Medical Aid Centre). And the possibility of a retrial of Dr Woolnough. Do we yet again have to watch the hypocrisy of male politicians deciding the abortion issue according to their "consciences"?

After some of the largest pro-abortion demonstrations yet seen in this country, and with poll after poll showing an increasing majority of the population favouring a woman's right to choose, the coming Women's Abortion Conference is extremely timely.

Some kind of national strategy is needed to fight back against the attacks being made and to win a positive victory, thus part of the conference will be concerned with proposals for future action. The conference programme also aims to bring out points of debate and discussion between different groups involved in the abortion campaign. This will be the first time there has been such an opportunity on a national scale since the National Women's Abortion Action Conference in 1973, and a lot has happened in those three years.

1 The tentative conference programme is as follows:

Saturday 31st July - 9am-10am Conference registration ($1.00).

Evening: social event with performance from travelling theatre group, focussing on reproductive control.

Sunday 1st August

• Area workshops
• Talk on contraceptive methods, good and bad points.
• Further workshops on strategy
• Plenary session (afternoon)

Delegates from many different women's organisations are being invited, and all women who are opposed to the present restrictive laws are urged to attend this conference.

Subsidised transport to the Conference is being arranged from Wellington. A bus will leave Wellington Railway Station at 7.30pm on Friday, 30th July and return on Sunday evening to arrive in Wellington early on Monday morning. The cost is $11 return.

The Women's Abortion Conference Committee in Wellington is meeting every Wednesday at 8pm, 1 Marion St to organise fundraising activities etc to subsidise transport costs and to publicise the conference. All women are very welcome to come along and help.

For further details please ring: Pat Bartle 858-534 (evgs); Helen Wilson 848-541 (day & evgs) or Claudia Mason 899-797 (evgs).

— Gillian Goodger

Report on the First Women's Study Group

About 20 women and three men attended the first meeting of the Women's Study Group on Wednesday, 7th July.

Petra Van Munkhoff gave a seminar on Women in the Third World. She was the N.Z. delegate to the Asian Students Conference held in Thailand last year, part of which dealt with the subject of women in the Third World Countries. Included in the Conference was a tour through both urban and rural areas of Thailand and Hong Kong, to study the position of the women there.

It was obvious that the women were very oppressed both at work and in the home. There is an extreme scarcity of jobs so they tend to hold on to what they have got uncomplainingly, although the wages and conditions are very bad.

Discussion then moved on to whether or not a women's study group was necessary on campus. When it was decided that we did want a regular forum for discussion each individual gave her or his ideas regarding aims and objectives for the group.

The question arose as to why not many of the people present attended Women's Choice Club meetings and involved themselves in the abortion, contraception and sterilisation issue. It transpired that not many people in fact saw abortion as a priority in the liberation of women, and also that Womens's Choice Club was a radical group of "bitter" women. These misconceptions were quickly explained - it was stressed that the W.C.C. is not a consciousness-raising group (it has both male and female members, and that it merely deals with the issues stated above).

A wide range of political opinions and shades of opinion on women's issues was represented so it looks as though discussion is going to be lively and, hopefully, productive in the future.

We would encourage as many people as possible to come along and gain from the experience. The next meeting is to be held on Monday, the 19th of July, and every alternate Monday thereafter, at 5pm in the Lounge/Smoking Room.