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Final Abortion Report tabled (media release)
The Victorian Law Reform Commission has provided advice about three options to decriminalise abortion in Victoria in a report tabled in parliament today.
Commission Chairperson, Professor Neil Rees, said the options were devised according to the specific terms of reference the government gave the commission.
“Our three options achieve the government’s desire to decriminalise abortion and ensure current clinical practice remains unchanged,” Professor Rees said.
“The options reflect the range of concerns put forward to us in consultations and submissions, while adhering to the terms of reference.”
“The major differences between the three options, or models, are the identity of the final decision maker and the circumstances in which an abortion is lawful.”
Professor Rees said the report discusses community views about abortion, current clinical practice and abortion law in other states and countries.
In addition to recommending options for the decriminalisation of abortion, the commission has also recommended changes to the Crimes Act to clarify the law regarding assaults on women with intent to harm the fetus.
“The commission recommends expanding the definition of ‘serious injury’ in section 15 of the Crimes Act to specifically include attacks on pregnant women that destroy the fetus,” Professor Rees said.
“This would allow for the repeal of the offence of ‘child destruction’ in section 10 of the Act which is has been used to prosecute attacks on women, despite it being created to deal with acts performed during childbirth.”
“This offence has created uncertainty since it was introduced in the United Kingdom in the 1920s and the British Parliament made changes in 1990 to bring about greater clarity.
“Serious injury carries the same maximum penalty as child destruction so the punishment of perpetrators would not change under our recommendations,” he said.
More than 500 submissions were received in response to the Information Paper released in September 2007. The commission met with more than 30 groups and individuals, and a panel of health professionals met twice to advise on current clinical practice.
Abortion decriminalisation models
MODEL A
• A doctor would have to assess whether continuation of pregnancy posed a risk of harm to the woman.
• Three options to define risk of harm that reflect current law and legal decisions since the 1969 Menhennitt ruling are included in the report.
• A doctor who performed or oversaw an abortion when not satisfied of risk of harm to the woman would be guilty of professional misconduct.
MODEL B
• A women’s consent provides lawful authority for an abortion up to 24 weeks gestation.
• After this point, an abortion would be lawful only when there was a medical determination that continuation of the pregnancy posed a risk of harm to the woman.
• Risk of harm would be defined as in Model A and there is an option of having either one or two doctors make this determination.
• The 24-week deadline is based on the timelines used in other jurisdictions and current clinical practice in Victoria. The British Parliament recently re-confirmed this time period in their abortion laws in a vote taken only last week.
• As in Model A, a doctor who performed or oversaw an abortion without being satisfied that there was risk of harm to the woman in continuing with her pregnancy would be guilty of professional misconduct.
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.
The Final Report is available at: www.lawreform.vic.gov.au or by calling 8619 8619.
For more information or an interview with Professor Rees please contact:
Sally Finlay, Communications Manager, Tel: 03 8619 8635, Mob: 0417 565 326.