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The Termination of Pregnancy Act Reform Act[66] was enacted on July 1, 2017, eliminating the need for two doctors to examine a woman before the 14th week of pregnancy, introducing a 150-meter-long “safe access zone” around clinics, eliminating parental consent requirements for the procedure, and offering the possibility of prescribing medical abortion tablets. [67] The 2018 interpretative report recorded 742 abortions in the past 12 months, of which 73% were medical abortions with tablets before the 9th week of pregnancy, with the remaining 27% performed in hospital. In 2006, Dr. Suman Sood was convicted of two counts of illegal abortion, in which she did not ask whether there was a legitimate reason to perform the abortion. [54] [55] Although abortion is legal in each of the country`s eight states and territories, people often struggle to access it, especially outside major cities, according to reproductive health experts. “Abortion is a postcode lottery,” said Bonney Corbin, head of policy at MSI Australia. As part of its referral, SALRI carried out extensive research and consultations with interested parties and the Community. SALRI received 2885 submissions from citizens using the YourSAy platform, as well as another 340 written submissions. In addition, SALRI organized a series of targeted expert forums with representatives from all walks of life, including religious and civil society groups, the disability sector, and the medical and legal professions. A number of expert forums were also held in a number of regional centres, including Whyalla, Port Augusta, Ceduna, Port Lincoln and Murray Bridge, with various health care providers.

An abortion can be obtained free of charge at the Pregnancy Advisory Centre in Adelaide. Abortions can also be obtained at hospitals prescribed in South Australia. Some private obstetricians and gynecologists also perform abortions. The changes remove abortion from the criminal justice system and integrate it into health care law. “The time has come for the McGowan government in Western Australia to finally decriminalise abortion and remove discriminatory and unnecessary legal barriers that deprive pregnant women of the right to make medical decisions about their bodies. The SAAAC said in a statement: “The amendment to the law was long overdue, and we have now waited 15 months for the regulations to be finalized for the law to come into force. Saac is relieved that we have finally reached this point, abortion in Australia is legal. It has been fully decriminalised in all jurisdictions, starting with Western Australia in 1998 and finally South Australia in 2022. Access to abortion varies from state to state and territory: surgical abortions are readily available on request within the first 16 to 24 weeks of pregnancy, but without limiting the length of pregnancy in the Australian Capital Territory. Subsequent abortions usually require the approval of two doctors, but are severely limited in Western Australia after 20 weeks. The report made 66 recommendations, which were considered individually by the Ministry of Health and Welfare.

Overall, the vast majority of recommendations were adopted, and 15 recommendations required respect from the Crown to obtain specific legal advice to ensure that the intended result was achieved in the new legislation. This process led to the drafting of the Abortion Act, which was reviewed by Parliament in 2021 and led to the current Termination of Pregnancy Act 2021. Over time, this has been defined broadly, including the mental health of the woman for whom an unwanted pregnancy is interpreted as clinically harmful. Prior to December 2018, access to abortion in Queensland was determined by the 1986 McGuire Decision, which declared abortion legal when necessary to protect the woman from a serious threat to her life or health – beyond the normal dangers of pregnancy and childbirth – that would occur if the pregnancy continued. and which is not disproportionate to the danger that is avoided. Until 2008, the abortion law in Queensland mirrored Victoria`s law. McGuire was rendered in 1994 in Veivers v. Connolly, by a single judge of the Supreme Court of Queensland. [2] The Health Care (Safe Access) Amendment Act 2020 prohibits certain behaviour in public places within 150 metres of the premises where abortions are performed. Outside the street was quiet. There were no protesters waving dolls and leaflets; It is illegal to beat or harass people at an abortion provider.

Inside, the women squatted in brown leather armchairs and scrolled through their mobile phones in the waiting room while the receptionists were on the phone. But much of the clinic`s work took place outside the building. In 2017, Senator Cory Bernardi introduced a motion to ban sex-selective abortion. The application was denied (10-36). [16] [17] There is no evidence that sex-selective abortions are common in Australia, although, according to the Human Rights Law Centre, attempting to impose bans on the procedure is a “well-known tactic of abortion opponents to restrict women`s access to abortion.” [18] Once new regulations come into effect, women will be able to access medicines for abortions online for up to nine weeks and will no longer have to travel. A woman`s sexual partner does not need to be informed of an abortion, and Australian courts will not issue injunctions to prevent the proceedings, even if the plaintiff is the alleged father of the fetus. [2] No waiting period for abortion is imposed. A minor is not required to inform a parent of a proposed abortion, and parental consent is not required, except in Western Australia. While abortions are regulated by states and territories, the procedure is partially funded by the federal government`s public health system, Medicare or private insurers.

In the case of a “child who may be born alive” (usually after 28 weeks of pregnancy), abortion may be the subject of a separate crime of child destruction in some states and territories. In Queensland, KelleHerr said, pregnant women who contacted them had reported that some medical professionals had flouted legal requirements by refusing to help them with abortions or refusing to refer them to someone who would. And delays in hospitals could be long, she said, citing a recent case in which a woman ended up giving birth despite her request for an abortion after nine weeks. Previously, layoffs could only be legally made in a handful of hospitals, mainly in the state capital of Adelaide, with the consent of two doctors and only for patients who had been living in the state for at least two months. Both doctors had to agree that the patient`s physical or mental health would be at risk without abortion or that the child would be born “severely disabled.” The change also allows patients to perform abortions at home through telemedicine consultations with intergovernmental providers.