The Abortion Law Reform Act 2008 is an abortion law reform passed by the Victorian Parliament in the Australian state of Victoria in 2008. The reform bill sought to amend section 65 of the Victorian Crimes Act 1958, which had codified the common law offences relating to abortion. The reform also repealed section 10 of the Crimes Act dealing with a separate offence of child destruction. [1] [2]
The amendment was moved on behalf of the Brumby Labor Government by the Women's Affairs Minister, Maxine Morand, and was based on a Victorian Law Reform Commission report tabled in the Victorian Parliament on 28 May 2008 which recommended the removal of abortion from the Victorian Crimes Act. [3] [4] All political parties allowed members of Parliament to have a conscience vote, and in October 2008 the bill was passed by both houses, as the Abortion Law Reform Act 2008. [3]
Under the Act, a woman is able to access abortion up to a gestational limit of 24 weeks. After that point a medical practitioner is able to provide an abortion if another practitioner agrees that an abortion is appropriate in all the circumstances. [3]
As amended by the Abortion Law Reform Act, section 65 of the Crimes Act 1958 states that only a qualified medical practitioner may perform an abortion on another person. A violation carries a maximum penalty of ten years imprisonment. Registered nurses and registered pharmacist are also qualified if they are administering a drug or drugs to terminate pregnancy in accordance with the amended act.
A female of any age who consents to, or assists in, the performance of an abortion on herself is not guilty of an offence against the section. [5]
The amended act allows for abortions after 24 weeks, but only if the medical practitioner:
In determining whether the circumstances warrant an abortion after 24 weeks, the registered medical practitioner must have regard to:
Medical practitioners who perform abortions after 24 weeks can still face criminal penalties if it is deemed that they have incorrectly determined the "appropriateness" of the abortion. [4]
Only pharmacists employed by a hospital may administer or supply a drug or drugs for an abortion after 24 weeks, and then only at the "written direction of a registered medical practitioner". [6]
Abortion is available in Victoria from 24 week to pre birth with a medical consent.
The act allows medical practitioners and nurses who have a conscientious objection to abortion to refuse to undertake or assist in the procedure, but they must inform the patient of their position, and the patient must also be supplied with information about a medical practitioner who does not have any such objection.
Regardless of their personal objections, medical practitioners and nurses have a duty to perform or assist in performing an emergency abortion if the pregnant woman's life is in danger. [6]
During the debate, various members of Parliament moved up to 40 amendments to the bill, the majority of which sought to either change the 24-week upper limit on unrestricted abortions or impose other restrictions. Some of the amendments moved in the Legislative Assembly sought to:
None of the amendments was agreed to by the Assembly.
During 2014 Former Liberal MP Geoff Shaw attempted to introduce a series of amendments in a private members bill which included resuscitating babies aborted alive. Shaw's attempt was blocked by then Premier Denis Napthine who voted against the Abortion Law Reform Act in 2008.
Abortion in the United Kingdom is de facto available under the terms of the Abortion Act 1967 in Great Britain and the Abortion (No.2) Regulations 2020 in Northern Ireland. The procurement of an abortion remains a criminal offence in Great Britain under the Offences Against the Person Act 1861, although the Abortion Act provides a legal defence for both the pregnant woman and her doctor. in certain cases.
Abortion in Ireland is regulated by the Health Act 2018. Abortion is permitted in Ireland during the first twelve weeks of pregnancy, and later in cases where the pregnant woman's life or health is at risk, or in the cases of a fatal foetal abnormality. Abortion services commenced on 1 January 2019, following its legalisation by the aforementioned Act, which became law on 20 December 2018. Previously, the 8th Constitutional Amendment had given the life of the unborn foetus the same value as that of its mother, but the 36th constitutional amendment, approved by referendum in May 2018, replaced this with a clause permitting the Oireachtas (parliament) to legislate for the termination of pregnancies.
Abortion in New Zealand is legal within the framework of the Abortion Legislation Act 2020, which permits the termination of pregnancy after 20 weeks in rare circumstances and removed abortion from the Crimes Act 1961. After 20 weeks, abortion is permitted only if a health practitioner deems it "clinically appropriate" and consults at least one other health practitioner. Abortion is illegal only if a person who is not a licensed health practitioner procures or performs it. In March 2022, New Zealand implemented explicit "safe access zones" by legislation around abortion clinics and/or hospitals.
Abortion in Australia is legal nationwide, having been fully decriminalised in all jurisdictions, starting with Western Australia in 1998 and lastly in South Australia in 2022. Access to abortion varies between the states and territories: surgical abortions are readily available on request within the first 20 to 24 weeks of pregnancy in most jurisdictions, and up to 16 weeks in Tasmania. Later term abortions in most states and territories can be obtained with the approval of two doctors. The exceptions are Western Australia, where abortion is heavily restricted after 20 weeks, and the Australian Capital Territory, where there is no limit on gestational term for approval by a single doctor.
Blasphemous libel was originally an offence under the common law of England. Today, it is an offence under the common law of Northern Ireland, but has been abolished in England and Wales, and repealed in Canada and New Zealand. It consists of the publication of material which exposes the Christian religion to scurrility, vilification, ridicule, and contempt, with material that must have the tendency to shock and outrage the feelings of Christians. It is a form of criminal libel.
Concealment of birth is the act of a parent failing to report the birth of a child. The term is sometimes used to refer to hiding the birth of a child from friends or family, but is most often used when the appropriate authorities have not been informed about a stillbirth or the death of a newborn. This is a crime in many countries, with varying punishments.
The Offences against the Person Act 1861 is an Act of the Parliament of the United Kingdom of Great Britain and Ireland. It consolidated provisions related to offences against the person from a number of earlier statutes into a single Act. For the most part these provisions were, according to the draftsman of the Act, incorporated with little or no variation in their phraseology. It is one of a group of Acts sometimes referred to as the Criminal Law Consolidation Acts 1861. It was passed with the object of simplifying the law. It is essentially a revised version of an earlier Consolidation Act, the Offences Against the Person Act 1828, incorporating subsequent statutes.
R v Davidson, also known as the Menhennitt ruling, was a significant ruling delivered in the Supreme Court of Victoria on 26 May 1969. It concerned the legality of abortion in the Australian state of Victoria. The ruling was not the end of the case, but rather answered certain questions of law about the admissibility of evidence, so as to allow the trial to proceed.
Timeline of women's legal rights (other than voting) represents formal changes and reforms regarding women's rights. The changes include actual law reforms as well as other formal changes, such as reforms through new interpretations of laws by precedents. The right to vote is exempted from the timeline: for that right, see Timeline of women's suffrage. The timeline excludes ideological changes and events within feminism and antifeminism; for that, see Timeline of feminism.
The Criminal Law Act 1967 is an Act of the Parliament of the United Kingdom that made some major changes to English criminal law, as part of wider liberal reforms by the Labour government elected in 1966. Most of it is still in force.
The Crimes Act 1961 is an act of New Zealand Parliament that forms a leading part of the criminal law in New Zealand. It repeals the Crimes Act 1908, itself a successor of the Criminal Code Act 1893. Most crimes in New Zealand are created by the Crimes Act, but some are created elsewhere. All common law offences are abolished by section 9, as are all offences against acts of the British Parliaments, but section 20 saves the old common law defences where they are not specifically altered.
Child destruction is the name of a statutory offence in England and Wales, Northern Ireland and Hong Kong. The offence of that name has been abolished and replaced in Victoria, Australia.
The Australian state of Victoria is regarded as one of the most progressive jurisdictions with respect to the rights of lesbian, gay, bisexual, transgender and intersex (LGBTI) people.
The Accessories and Abettors Act 1861 is a mainly repealed Act of the Parliament of the United Kingdom of Great Britain and Ireland. It consolidated statutory English criminal law related to accomplices, including many classes of encouragers (inciters). Mainly its offences were, according to the draftsman of the Act, replacement enactments with little or no variation in phraseology. It is one of a group of Acts sometimes referred to as the Criminal Law Consolidation Acts 1861. It was passed with the object of simplifying the law. It collected the relevant parts of Peel's Acts and others.
Contraception, Sterilisation, and Abortion Act 1977, also known as the CS&A Act 1977, is an Act of Parliament in New Zealand. It was passed shortly following an inquiry by the Royal Commission on Contraception, Sterilisation and Abortion. The legislation established the legal framework for abortion in New Zealand; with abortions being allowed provided the procedure was approved by two certifying consultants and that the circumstances met the criteria of the Crimes Act 1961. In March 2020, several of its provisions were amended by the Abortion Legislation Act 2020, which eased access to abortion and eliminated most of the criteria established by the Crimes Act 1961.
The Choice on Termination of Pregnancy Act, 1996 is the law governing abortion in South Africa. It allows abortion on demand up to the twelfth week of pregnancy, under broadly specified circumstances from the thirteenth to the twentieth week, and only for serious medical reasons after the twentieth week. The Act has been described by the Guttmacher Institute as "one of the most liberal abortion laws in the world".
Brodie's Law is an amendment to the Victorian Crimes Act 1958 which makes serious bullying an offence punishable by a maximum penalty of 10 years' imprisonment. The law is named after Brodie Panlock, a 19-year-old who took her own life after being bullied at work. Brodie Panlock's parents, Damien and Rae Panlock, successfully lobbied the Victorian Government to make the amendment.
Abortion in Queensland is available on request in the first 22 weeks of pregnancy, with the approval of two doctors usually required for later terminations of pregnancy. Queensland law prohibits protesters from coming within 150 metres of an abortion clinic and requires conscientiously objecting doctors to refer women seeking an abortion to a doctor who will provide one. The current legal framework was introduced by the Palaszczuk Labor Government with the passage of the Termination of Pregnancy Act by the Parliament of Queensland on 17 October 2018 in a conscience vote. Before the Termination of Pregnancy Act took effect on 3 December 2018, abortion was subject to the Criminal Code and the common law McGuire ruling, which made abortion unlawful unless the abortion provider had a reasonable belief that a woman's physical or mental health was at risk. Availability varies across the state, and is more limited in rural and remote areas outside South East Queensland. In the absence of standardised data collection, it is estimated that between 10,000 and 14,000 abortions occur every year in Queensland.
The Abortion Legislation Act 2020 is an Act of Parliament in New Zealand that decriminalises abortion. Under the act, abortion is available without restrictions to any woman who is not more than 20 weeks pregnant. Women seeking an abortion after 20 weeks have to be assessed by a qualified health professional.
The Abortion Law Reform Act 2019, introduced as the Reproductive Health Care Reform Bill 2019 in the New South Wales Legislative Assembly, is an Act of the Parliament of New South Wales which removed abortion from the Crimes Act 1900, allows abortions for up to 22 weeks, and permits an abortion after 22 weeks if two medical practitioners agree. The Act received Royal assent on 2 October 2019 and commenced with immediate effect. With the commencement of the Act, New South Wales became the last state or territory in Australia to decriminalise abortion.
Clause 9 repeals section 10 of the Crimes Act 1958, which is contained in subdivision (2) of Division 1 of Part I of that Act. Section 10 of the Crimes Act 1958 contains the offence of child destruction, which the Victorian Law Reform Commission has recommended be repealed.