New Zealand has announced a bill to legalise abortion for all women that would reclassify terminations as a health matter rather than a crime.
The justice minister, Andrew Little, announced the bill that would see abortion reclassified as a health issue and not a crime, and would bring New Zealand law into line with many other developed countries. Under the draft legislation, which will have its first reading on Thursday, no statutory test would be required for a women wanting to terminate a pregnancy up to 20 weeks of pregnancy. Women would be able to self-refer to abortion providers, bypassing the need for a doctor’s visit, and would be advised of counselling and support services, though counselling would not be mandatory.
Terry Bellamak, director of ALRANZ Abortion Rights Aotearoa said New Zealand women have waited decades for the overhaul and though the bill was “a huge step forward, and quite an achievement”, the details were a bit of a “mixed bag”.
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