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Abortion Law would only require a medical test for women who are more than 20 weeks pregnant, in proposed changes announced by the government on August 5, 2019.
The government released details of a Bill which would remove abortion from the Crimes Act and instead treat it as a health issue. It comes after months of stalling and back-and-forth negotiations between coalition partners.
Currently, the Law allows for abortion to be performed only to save the life of the mother, or to preserve her physical or mental health, and only if the procedure is approved by two doctors or consultants.
The Fourth Option
Last year, the Law Commission recommended three options for Abortion Law Reform.
One option was that the decision would be for a woman and her doctor, another that a mental health assessment be carried out for all abortions, and a third would require a woman’s mental health to be examined only after 22 weeks of pregnancy.
However, the government has opted for a different option, requiring an examination if a woman is more than 20 weeks pregnant. After 20 weeks, a health practitioner would need to determine that they reasonably believe the abortion is appropriate with regard to the pregnant woman’s physical and mental health, and wellbeing.
A Reformation
Justice Minister Andrew Little said that the Bill would modernise New Zealand’s Abortion Laws, bringing them into line with many other developed countries.
“Abortion is the only medical procedure that is still a crime in New Zealand. It is time for this to change. Safe abortion should be treated and regulated as a health issue; a woman has the right to choose what happens to her body. The safe systems and regulation that we need to do this are already in place through other health legislation and codes of professional practice within the medical profession. Oversight of abortion services would be transferred from the Abortion Supervisory Committee to the Ministry of Health,” Mr Little said.
Discussions with Partners
Speaking to reporters, Mr Little said that the final details of the Bill were decided after discussions with government parties.
“New Zealand First… has been very constructive, very positive. In fact, we have got the bill to the point that it is with the support that they’ve given. The vote will be treated as a conscience issue which means MPs do not have to vote along Party lines. I don’t know precisely where the numbers sit on this, but I think the bill in the current form that it’s in gives us the best chance of getting the best numbers on Thursday,” he said.
The Provisions
The Bill, which will had its first reading in Parliament on August 8, 2019 will (a) remove any statutory test on the health practitioner for a woman who is not more than 20 weeks pregnant. For a woman who is more than 20 weeks pregnant would require the health practitioner to reasonably believe that abortion is appropriate with regard to the pregnant woman’s physical and mental health, and well-being (b) Ensure that health practitioners advise women of the availability of counselling services if they are considering an abortion or have had an abortion, although counselling will not be mandatory (c) Ensure that a woman can self-refer to an abortion service provider (d) Enable a regulation-making power to set up safe areas around specific abortion facilities, on a case-by-case basis (e) Ensure that practitioners who object to providing services on the grounds of conscience must inform the pregnant women about their objection, and that the woman can obtain the services elsewhere (f) Retain the criminal offence for unqualified people who attempt to procure an abortion on a pregnant woman or supply the means for procuring an abortion (g) Retain the criminal offence of killing an unborn child for any person who causes harm to a pregnant woman and in doing so causes the death of a fetus.
Conscience Vote
The Bill will be treated as a conscience issue, meaning MPs will be able to vote independently at each stage.
Prime Minister Jacinda Ardern said she senses the vote results “will be close.”
“But I hope one of the considerations MPs would give is the chance for the public to have their say – that will only happen if it passes at this first vote,” she said.
More than 200 people marched to Parliament late last month calling for reform of New Zealand’s abortion laws, on the day Cabinet ministers were considering the draft Bill.
A petition posted on the Parliament website in May gained 37,856 signatures before it was presented in July asking MPs to remove abortion from the Crimes Act.
Published under a Special Agreement with www.rnz.co.nz. The above is the edited version. For full text of the above article, please visit www.indiannewslink.co.nz
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Photo Caption:
Justice Minister Andrew Little (RNZ Photo by Ana Tovey)
