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In 2020, the New Zealand (NZ) Parliament voted to decriminalise abortion. Although NZ's abortion law formally opposes sex selective abortions, there is considerable complexity in the gender politics of 'choice' and 'agency' in multi-ethnic societies, and interpretations of reproductive rights for ethnic minority women and for the girl child, respectively. This paper explores these complexities through the perspectives of reproductive and maternity care practitioners who are situated at the interface of legal systems, health service provision, and delivery of culturally sensitive care. Thirteen practitioners were interviewed as part of this study. The analysis highlights strains in framings of 'reproductive choice' (underpinned by western liberal notions of rights) and 'gender equality' (abortion rights that acknowledge the complexity of cultural son-preference) for ethnic minority women. These tensions are played out in three aspects of the post-reform landscape: (a) everyday practice and accountability; (b) consumerism and choice; (c) custodianship and gender rights. The findings point to the limitations in operationalising choices for ethnic women in health systems wherein trust deficit prevails, and cultural dynamics render complex responses to abortion. They also highlight reconfigurations of client-expert relationships that may have implications for practitioners' abilities to advocate for ethnic women's rights against cultural influences. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Purpose: Little is known about the barriers and facilitators to pregnancy, birth and motherhood for disabled women within the New Zealand context. Our study explored this deficit with the aim of improving health care interventions and support for disabled mothers. Methods: This paper reports on the third phase of a mixed-methods study. The first two phases used semi-structured individual and focus group interviews with disabled women, and health professionals, involved in maternity and postnatal care and has been reported elsewhere. Phase 3 utilised a modified Delphi technique with both groups of participants to seek consensus on the prioritisation of recommendations from the study. This article focuses on the disabled women's recommendations. Results: In all, 20 disabled women took part in the Delphi phase of the study (28% of the cohort from Phase 1). In total, 11 key recommendations were identified by the disabled women, with the top seven discussed in detail here. Conclusions: Health professionals and health systems could, and arguably should, utilise a matrix of these recommendations to facilitate a review of service responsiveness to disabled women. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Transgender and nonbinary (trans) people can face unique barriers to accessing gender-inclusive perinatal care. The present study explored trans people's experiences of perinatal care in Aotearoa New Zealand. A thematic analysis of 17 interviews with trans people and their whānau identified seven themes regarding the operation and impact of cisnormativity on participants' family-building journeys. Findings indicate that cisnormativity manifests as an erasure of gender diversity and creates barriers to affirming and safe care. Importantly, participants' constant negotiation of cisnormativity in perinatal care had enduring impacts on their well-being. Addressing cisnormativity is fundamental to securing trans reproductive justice. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]