Letter from the Chair / He reta nā te Tiamana

It is with much pleasure that Toi te Taiao: the Bioethics Council presents the Associate Minister for the Environment with this report into the cultural, ethical and spiritual aspects of pre-birth testing.

Pre-birth testing includes common blood tests and scans, amniocentesis, and pre-implantation genetic diagnosis (PGD). The guidelines governing PGD are currently being considered by the Government, so it is timely for us to make recommendations in this area. But all forms of pre-birth testing, including tests that will in time be invented or become accessible, can raise difficult cultural, ethical and spiritual questions. That is why our focus in this report is broader than PGD alone.

The recommendations we present here are those of Council members, but they have been informed by the views of New Zealanders. As in our previous work, we have engaged in nationwide public deliberation. This time, we have pioneered methods, like the online choicebook and deliberative forums, that are new in this country. We wanted to encourage people to think through the consequences of their choices as well as to share their experiences and views with Council members and each other. We realise that this is not easy, and that we are privileged that so many New Zealanders were prepared to do so thoughtfully and passionately. We are most grateful to them. It is clear to us that policy-makers can learn a great deal from the public when it has the time and information to deliberate.

Toi te Taiao: the Bioethics Council has great satisfaction in presenting the Minister, and the people of New Zealand, with Who Gets Born? A report on the cultural, ethical and spiritual aspects of pre-birth testing.

Tēnei a Toi te Taiao: the Bioethics Council te tāpae atu i tēnei pūrongo mō ngā āhuatanga ā-ahurea, ā-matatika, a-wairua hoki mō te whakamātau i te kōhungahunga i te whare tangata, ki mua i te aroaro o te Minita Tuarua mō te Taiao, i runga i te ngākau hari.

Ko ētahi o ngā whakamātautau i te whare tangata ko ngā whakamātautau noa o te toto me ngā matawai, te wero i te kahu, me te whakamātau ira i mua i te whakatōkanga (PGD). Kei te whakahoutia ngā aratohu e pā ana ki te whakamātau i mua i te whakatōkanga e te Kāwanatanga, nā reira e tika ana kia whakaputaina e mātou ō mātou whakaaro mō tēnei kaupapa. Engari, ahakoa i tēhea whakamātautau i mua i te whānautanga, tae atu ki ngā whakamātau meake nei ka hangaia e hinengaro tangata, ka wātea ake rānei i roto i ngā tau, tērā tonu ōna pātai nunui mō te taha ki ngā āhuatanga ā-ahurea, ā-matatika, a-wairua hoki. Koia i whānui kē atu ai tā mātou titiro, i tēnei pūrongo, i te whakamātau i mua i te whakatōkanga anake.

Ko ngā kupu tohutohu ka horaina atu nei e mātou, nā mātou anō, engari nā ngā whakaaro o ngā tāngata takitini i Aotearoa i whai kiko ai. I runga anō i ngā tikanga o ō mua mahi, kua hoki anō ki te iwi ki te whakawhitiwhiti kōrero mō te kaupapa. I tēnei wā kua whakaurua mai ētahi tikanga hou, pēnei i te pukapuka-kōwhiri ā-ipurangi, ā, he mea hou tērā tonu i tēnei whenua. I te hiahia mātou kia whai whakaaro te tangata mō te hua o ō rātou whiringa, me te whakawhitiwhiti mō ō ratou wheako, tā rātou titiro hoki ki ēnei take, ki ngā mema o te Kaunihera, otirā ki a rātou anō. Ehara i te mahi māmā, engari me mihi anō ki a rātou mō rātou i māia ki kawe i te kaupapa, ki te whakaputa hoki i ō rātou whakaaro. E kore e mutu te whakamoemiti atu ki a rātou. He mārama tonu ki a mātou he nui te akoranga ka hua ake i te iwi whānui, mehemea ka tukuna kia āta kōrero mārire mō tētahi kaupapa, otirā ki te whakawhitiwhiti whakaaro.

Tēnei a Toi te Taiao: the Bioethics Council te tāpae atu i tēnei pūrongo Who Gets Born? mō ngā āhuatanga ā-ahurea, ā-matatika, a-wairua hoki mō te whakamātau i te kōhungahunga i te whare tangata, ki mua i te aroaro o te Minita Tuarua mō te Taiao, i runga i te ngākau tatū.

Dr Martin Wilkinson
Chair/ Tiamana
Toi te Taio: the Bioethics Council

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