I think it's great that New Zealand is extending this compassion to parents who lose a child before viability. I think there is an inherent tension between allowing bereavement leave for miscarriages but not abortions--at the very least, we can recognize that for many women, choosing to end a pregnancy comes with a fair amount of grief despite it being a choice she has made. It's definitely strange to think of losing a child before viability as tragic when it is involuntary but not otherwise. Framing the reason for bereavement leave as the way the parents felt about the pregnancy helps resolve some of this tension, but like I say above, doesn't address the fact that parents who choose abortion often do feel grief over it.
I think it's great that New Zealand is extending this compassion to parents who lose a child before viability. I think there is an inherent tension between allowing bereavement leave for miscarriages but not abortions--at the very least, we can recognize that for many women, choosing to end a pregnancy comes with a fair amount of grief despite it being a choice she has made. It's definitely strange to think of losing a child before viability as tragic when it is involuntary but not otherwise. Framing the reason for bereavement leave as the way the parents felt about the pregnancy helps resolve some of this tension, but like I say above, doesn't address the fact that parents who choose abortion often do feel grief over it.