Will Simeon Brown try to shut down Family Planning?

The Health Minister's dark past is a concern.

To the horror of women all over Aotearoa, Prime Minister Christopher Luxon named vehemently anti-choice politician Simeon Brown as the new Health Minister last week. Few know just how enmeshed Simeon Brown is in the anti-choice movement.

So much so, that he once organised and led marches aimed at removing and denying access to healthcare for pregnant people with the group ‘Stop Family Planning’.

Brown voted against removing abortion from the Crimes Act in 2020, and against establishing safe spaces free from protest or interference outside clinics offering abortion services.

He also celebrated the restriction of US abortion access. And at 18 took part in protests against women while president of the Auckland University Pro-Life Club and spokesperson and organiser with Stop Family Planning.

Despite content that shows his involvement in the anti-choice movement and Stop Family Planning group being removed - the internet is forever. And we have plenty of information about just how involved he was, including from people who were there fighting for choice at the time.

Family Planning - now called Sexual Wellbeing Aotearoa - provides advice and support on sexual health. Everything from fertility to menopause. They provide vaccinations, contraception, cervical screenings, endometriosis health and support, STI checks, early abortion support at two of their clinics, and relationships and sexuality education.

For a period I worked at Sexual Health Aotearoa and it was the most inspiring and important mahi I’ve had the privilege of doing.

On the smell of an oily rag they do incredible things. They save lives. And they’re reliant on government funding.

This is what Simeon Brown said as spokesperson for Stop Family Planning in 2010 when the organisation applied to the Abortion Supervisory Committee for a licence for the medical abortion pill for use before nine weeks of pregnancy.

“We all agree that too many abortions are occurring in New Zealand. If this application is approved it will only increase that number,” Mr Brown said.
“The voice of New Zealand is clear. The Abortion Supervisory Committee must deny the FPA (Family Planning) a licence to kill pre-born children up to 9 weeks.”

Chatting to Dame Margaret Sparrow DNZM MBE.

Dame Margaret Sparrow DNZM MBE remembers Simeon Brown’s behaviour at the time. He was 18 with no health experience. She was 75. She had a Bachelor of Science, a Bachelor of Medicine, Bachelor of Surgery and had completed a Diploma in Venereology in the University of London. She’d worked as a doctor and venereologist and had served as president of Abortion Law Reform Association of New Zealand before Simeon had even been born.

“He stood out,” Dame Margaret says.

“Especially in 2010, he was then the president of the Right To Life [student association] at Auckland university…He was very active. Even more so he was active in Stop Family Planning a programme to stop Family Planning opening their first medical abortion clinic that was proposed for Hamilton.”

“He organised a march for that. He was very active, he was very vocal. He would appear on television.”

“I thought he was very arrogant. He was not only confident about things he knew nothing about, like quoting unscientific statistics about medical abortion, but he had [this] youthful arrogance that was so obnoxious at that time.”

Reproductive Rights Advocate Jacqueline Cavanagh says she shares Dame Margaret’s concerns around Simeon’s attitude toward women.

“This appointment is disastrous for reproductive healthcare. This minister thinks he knows better than you do about what healthcare you need and what care you should be able to access,” she says.

“He will expose patients and health workers to harassment and intimidation by the radical extremists that he himself has previously associated with and whom he continues to support. For anyone like me who has previously accessed abortion healthcare, or who might do so in the future, this is really scary.”

Simeon Brown with his “Choose life” bracelet.

Brown has said "Every politician has views but what I'm saying is my personal views have been on the public record but we're not changing the legislation”.

These words don’t bring me comfort. Of course he can’t change our legislation but there’s more than one way to take away our reproductive rights.

And one is removing funding and services provided by Sexual Wellbeing Aotearoa. Given Simeon Brown actively campaigned to remove services why should we believe he won’t continue to do that?

And given Christopher Luxon and Simeon Brown both consider abortion to be murder - why should we believe they won’t limit access and funding to abortion?

If you believed babies were being murdered and it was within your power to stop it - what kind of person wouldn’t stop it? And this is what Luxon and Brown believe - that if you’ve had an abortion you’re a murderer. That is the pro-life position.

Luxon predictably said: “All I can say, what I've said for the last year or so, is that there will be absolutely no change to our abortion laws." It’s important to note that RNZ stated - “Pushed on the possibility of tweaks to the access or services or funding, the prime minister said this would not happen.”

Health Minister Simeon Brown.

Cavanagh says we have reason to be scared that reproductive rights are at risk.

“[Simeon Brown] will be responsible for funding and prioritisation in our health system. He does not need a law change to reduce access to care, or to limit the number of providers offering care.”

Former president ALRANZ Abortion Rights Aotearoa Terry Bellamak agrees.

“There are many ways to hurt abortion care and the people who need it without touching the legislation. What about this talk of moving abortion care to the Child and Youth team? How is that supposed to work when the vast majority of people who receive abortion care are adults?,” she says.

“What is a promise worth when given by a government that has already broken so many promises? In which the Prime Minister and the Health Minister are self-proclaimed members of the anti-abortion movement?”

“People who can become pregnant have every reason to mistrust this government and its promises.”

Debbie Ngarewa-Packer co-leader of Te Pāti Māori says Simeon Brown’s appointment is alarming.

“Te Pāti Māori’s fundamental values are that all whānau members have the right to be well and thriving equally without discrimination, living their mana motuhake.” Ngarewa-Packer says.

“The appointment of a health minister who not only disrespects wahine rights but also opposed banning conversion therapy is extremely alarming and must be treated with the utmost caution and disdain.”

Labour’s spokesperson for women Jan Tinetti agrees.

“Simeon Brown’s past comments raise concerns about whether he truly respects the fundamental right of women to make health care decisions over their own bodies.

“Kiwis need to have confidence in their health services and unfortunately Simeon Brown’s history of anti-choice comments only erodes New Zealander’s trust in this government even more.”

“Labour will continue to hold this government to account and a Labour Government will proudly protect women’s fundamental right to an abortion.”

Jackie Edmond, chief executive of Sexual Wellbeing Aotearoa says that like all other health services in Aotearoa, theirs is based on international best practice and guidelines not opinion.

“Clients coming to our clinics would not expect the personal beliefs of whoever was the government of the day to impact the choices they make or the services they receive,” Edmond says.

“We see around the world that care based on the best possible clinical evidence isn’t the case when it comes to women being able to manage their own health decisions - particularly around abortion.”

“We just need to look at what’s happening in the US where access to abortion is being increasingly restricted. Just last week, they reinstated the Global Gag Rule. The sole purpose of this rule is to stop women being able to access abortion care which ultimately costs thousands of lives.”

Jackie Edmond, chief executive of Sexual Wellbeing Aotearoa formally Family Planning.

At 25-year-old, Dame Margaret, then a medical student and mother of two became one of the first women in Aotearoa to take the contraceptive pill.

She has seen it all. Now at 89 years-old she has a message for us.

“We must be vigilant,” she says.

“We must voice our concerns so they’re heard so that we don’t go backward.”

Jackie Edmond and Dame Margaret know what’s at stake.

“Every year there are some 20 million unsafe abortions globally. Each year around 47,000 women die, and women are permanently disabled as a result,” Edmond says.

“What’s happening in the United States – especially in abortion and sexual and reproductive health care - is a cautionary example of what happens when health care is dictated by ideology and not international best practice and evidence.

“I hope that this doesn’t happen in New Zealand, and we continue to have best practice, evidence-based services where women make decisions about their own health care.”

On deadline a spokesperson for Brown responded to my question “Can Simeon Brown confirm there will be no removal of services or funding for Family Planning Aotearoa now known as Sexual Wellbeing Aotearoa given he once campaigned to have services removed?” with “As the Prime Minister has said, there will be no changes to the current settings we have in place”.

I’ll leave that to you as to whether you think that answers the question.