Conclusion

So, what did come out in the end? It has been decided to have national days of action on abortion on the following dates' April 1st (when the legislation comes into effect), the Opening of Parliament and September 15th Women's Sufferage Day. A natioanl publicity committee has been set up, based in Auckland. It has been decided to have another national meeting in July, to evaluate progress up till then and to plan action for the rest of the year. This meeting will be held in Wellington.

Personally I am unhappy that the publicity committee is to be based in Auckland. This reinforces the already strong Auckland influence on a national movement which could tend to make women outside Auckland feel isolated from the national decision making in the campaign. It's not helped either by the fact that a suggestion that publicity be sent out for comments before publication was rejected. I regret also that the Conference policy does not include specific involvement of men. Men make up half the population of New Zealand and their support is as necessary as that of women. Overall however, I feel that the Conference was a success. It provided a national forum for discussion (although being in Auckland, many people were unable to attend) and has provided direction for the abortion campaign this year. The battle will be hard fought.

Lamorna Rogers