Abortion as a health issue becomes legalized in New Zealand after a pass has been passed with a majority of votes.

According to the international news agency, the procedure was still regulated under the Crimes Act, asking women to prove to their doctors that their pregnancy is a danger for her physical or mental condition before they apply for abortion.

Justice Minister Andrew Little said that the requirement compelled most women to lie about their mental condition and led to delays which can cause health risks.

However, this law enables the women who are up to 20 weeks pregnant to apply for abortion with approval from a health expert.

The bill was passed with a majority of 68 to 51 votes.

Conservative member Simeon Brown opposed the decision and said that the unborn child felt heartbeat should be treated with respect.

Jackie Edmond, the chief executive of Family Planning, New Zealand’s largest referrer of women to abortion services, said that women will finally get the right to make decisions about their health.

She said, “its fantastic Parliament has addressed something that they should have addressed 40 years ago.”

Christchurch mosque attacks: Remembering the martyrs

New Zealand commemorates the first anniversary of the Christchurch mosque massacre.

A crowd was seen singing and dancing in honor of 51 people murdered in the massacre a year ago.

However, major big events were cancelled to avoid the spread of coronavirus.

It should be remembered that 51 Muslims were killed in an attack on 15 March 2019 allegedly by white supremacist Brenton Tarrant at the Masjid An-Nur mosque and the Linwood Islamic Center.

The canceled event had been predicted to involve a large group of people to pay homage to those killed.