Topical Issues
Abortion Law Reform Bill – Successful Passage through the Victorian Parliament
On 10 September 2008 the Abortion Law Reform Bill passed the first vote in the Lower House of the Victorian Parliament. The vote was 47 to 35 in favour of the Bill. The Bill then went to a committee for further examination before returning to the Legislative Assembly for further debate.
On 12 September 2008 the Abortion Law Reform Bill was passed in the Legislative Assembly of the Victorian Parliament passed the Abortion Law Reform Bill, 49 – 32. All proposed amendments to the Bill were debated and rejected. The Bill was then introduced into the Upper House for future debate.
On 13 October 2008 the Legislative Council of Victorian Parliament passed the third and final reading of the Abortion Law Reform Bill 2008 without amendment, 23 – 17. After a marathon parliamentary debate, all proposed amendments to the Bill were rejected.
On 22 October 2008 the Abortion Law Reform Bill 2008 received its Royal Assent and is now legislation.
Gippsland Women’s Health Service congratulates the Victorian Government on bringing this legislation into the Parliament.
The successful passage of the Bill means that abortion is no longer a crime in Victoria. The information below provides an insight into the process of review of abortion law in Victoria that was undertaken this year and which led to the passing of this very important legislation.
Decriminalisation of Abortion
Prior to October 2008, abortion in Victoria was included in the Crimes Act. This situation was a significant impediment to developing an effective, reliable and safe service delivery system in regard to this procedure and resulted in inconsistencies of service and difficulties of access for many women, particularly those living in country Victoria.
In response to a request from the Victorian Premier, Mr John Brumby, the Victorian Law Reform Commission (VLRC) undertook a review of abortion practices and the subsequent report and recommendations to Government were tabled in the Victorian Parliament on May 29th 2008. The report offered three models for the decriminalisation of abortion.
Gippsland Women's Health Service congratulates the Premier on his initiative in referring this matter to the VLRC and acknowledges the work involved in the preparation of this comprehensive report and recommendations.
Gippsland Women's Health Service supported Model C:
- A woman’s consent provides lawful authority for an abortion throughout her pregnancy.
- Unlawful abortions would include those conducted without the woman’s consent and those conducted by unqualified people.
This model gives women the right to make their own decisions based on their individual circumstances and beliefs.
Decriminalisation of abortion is not about increasing abortion or about changing practice. It is about creating a health service environment that will ensure that women can make appropriate choices about their reproductive health and that they and their medical practitioners are protected in the delivery of health services that support those decisions. Countries where termination of pregnancy is legal and accessible, such as Belgium and the Netherlands, experience some of the lowest abortion rates in the world.
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Background Information
Leading up to the announcement by Premier Brumby of the VLRC review, a conference Abortion in Victoria 2007, Where are we now? Where do we want to go? was hosted by The Key Centre for Women’s Health in Society (University of Melbourne), The Royal Women’s Hospital, Family Planning Victoria and Women’s Health Victoria. It was designed to consider both the current state-of-play and the future of abortion policy, services and research in Victoria.
From the broad strokes of the principles underpinning law reform, to the details of what makes an abortion service first class, the speakers identified the strengths and weaknesses of abortion in Victoria, and provided clear direction for the future.
The conference culminated in the endorsement of 14 statements (The Melbourne Declaration), providing a blueprint for the planning of future abortion services. The Declaration draws on the key principles agreed upon by the speakers; effort should be made to improve sexual health and reduce the need for abortion, abortion services should be accessible to all women, abortion services should conform to world’s best practice and women having abortions and abortion providers should be free from harassment.
Executive summary of conference available here (PDF 185Kb).
The Melbourne Declaration is available here (PDF 184Kb).
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