NT Parliament Decriminalises Abortion, Allows Access To RU486

Thursday 23 March 2017 @ 12.47 p.m. | Crime

The Termination of Pregnancy Law Reform Bill 2017 (NT) passed the Northern Territory Parliament on Tuesday (21 March 2017), after a long and emotional debate.  The Bill was passed 20 votes to four and had bipartisan support. The Bill updates the Criminal Code Act to decriminalise abortion, and allows women seeking abortions who are no more than 14 weeks pregnant to be assessed by a single medical practitioner, with those between 14 and 23 weeks required to be assessed by two medical practitioners.  

Introducing the Bill into Parliament, the Minister for Health, Natasha Fyles, said:

“…the Termination of Pregnancy Law Reform Bill before the Legislative Assembly today will provide safe options for termination of pregnancy in out-of hospital settings alongside the existing options in hospital settings, and will provide the same choices that women living in the rest of Australia have had for a number of years.

It will bring legislation up to date with contemporary medical and legal practices and ensure that legislation keeps pace with medical advances in the future… The campaign for law reform has been a long one.

I am pleased that the Northern Territory now has legislation before the Legislative Assembly to provide Territorians with a modern legislative framework which reflects widespread community views and current political practice in relation to this important women’s health issue.”

Under the current legislation, all termination procedures are required to be carried out in hospital settings only.  According to the Sydney Morning Herald, only two hospitals in Darwin and one in Alice Springs are equipped to carry out the procedure.  Northern Territory Chief Minister Michael Gunner said that the new bill would allow women in remote areas to access their rights without needing to travel to one of those two locations:

“We hear of women forced to travel interstate to terminate pregnancies, going across state lines or indeed for those travelling from remote places to Darwin or Alice Springs, it may mean women are without support of family and friend at an incredibly vulnerable and difficult time.”

The changes in the Bill would also allow women to be prescribed medication such as RU486 from a doctor, receive it from a nurse or pharmacist, commence the procedure in a day surgery, clinic or doctor’s surgery and then complete the treatment at home or another location.

The Bill also contains a number of “safe access zone” provisions that will make it an offence for a person to engage in “prohibited conduct” such as harassing, intimidating, threatening or hindering a person trying to enter or leave a premises on which abortions are conducted.  The safe access zone will stretch for 150 metres outside the boundary of the premises.   

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