Press Release – ALRANZ Abortion Rights Aotearoa
ALRANZ Abortion Rights Aotearoa has asked the Department of Internal Affairs (“DIA”) to take steps to ensure that anti-abortion ‘counselling’ centres that purport to provide pre- and post-abortion counselling do not receive COGS funding outside the rules for COGS grants.
RNZ reported in 2019 that over the years, more than $300,000 in COGS grants had been paid to 2 anti-abortion activist centres, Pregnancy Counselling Services and Crisis Pregnancy Support.
The report describes how people who attend these centres looking for unbiased counselling are pressured not to receive abortion care.
The published rules for COGS grants state:
COGS does not fund: