Abortion Legislation Act 2020
The Abortion Legislation Act 2020 is an Act of Parliament in New Zealand that amends the law to decriminalise 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.
Legislative features
The Abortion Legislation Act decriminalises abortion, better aligns the regulation of abortion services with other health services, and modernises the legal framework of abortion provided by the Crimes Act 1961 and the Contraception, Sterilisation, and Abortion Act 1977. The Abortion Legislation Act repeals Sections 10 to 46 of the CSA Act 1977 including the Abortion Supervisory Committee, the requirement that abortions need to be certified by two certifying consultants, and the ban on women unlawfully procuring a miscarriage. Under the Abortion Legislation Act, women can seek an abortion without restrictions within the first 20 weeks of their pregnancy. After the 20 week period, women seeking an abortion must consult a qualified health practitioner who will assess the patient's physical health, mental health, and well-being.The Act also requires medical practitioners who have a conscientious objection to performing abortions to inform their patients at the earliest opportunity and to provide them with information on how to access the closest abortion services. The Act also contains provisions for protecting the rights of conscientious objecting medical professionals from discrimination and termination.
The Abortion Legislation Act also amends Section 182 of the Crimes Act to allow for abortion services within the provisions of the CSA Act. The Act also repeals Sections 182 to 187A of the Crimes Act including the 14 year jail term for any persons with the exception of the woman or girl seeking to unlawfully procure abortion ; a seven year prison term for persons who unlawfully provide the means of procuring an abortion, and seeking an abortion illegally before or after the 20 week gestation period. The Abortion Legislation Act replaces these sections with Section 183 which makes it an offense for a person who is not a health practitioner to procure or perform an abortion for a woman.
The Abortion Legislation Act also extends the definition of health services in the Health and Disability Commissioner Act 1994 to include abortion services.
History
Background
On 5 August 2019, the Minister of Justice Andrew Little announced that the Labour-led coalition government would be introducing new legislation to decriminalise abortion and to allow women unrestricted access to abortion within the 20 week gestation period. The New Zealand Law Commission had proposed three options for abortion reform: having no statutory test to make sure the abortion was appropriate at any point; taking abortion of the Crimes Act but having a statutory test; or only having a test for later-term abortions, after 22 weeks. The Government adopted the third approach but reduced it to 20 weeks. While pro-choice groups like the Abortion Law Reform Association of New Zealand and Family Planning have welcomed the proposed changes but criticized the 20 week limit, the Government's proposed abortion law reform was opposed by the conservative lobby group Family First New Zealand.According to media reports, the ruling Labour Party and its coalition partner New Zealand First conducted months of negotiations on the proposed Abortion Legislation Bill. New Zealand First Member of Parliament and Minister of Children Tracey Martin, a supporter of abortion reform, played an active role in the negotiations. On 6 August 2019, NZ First leader and Deputy Prime Minister Winston Peters surprised both Martin and Labour by demanding a binding referendum on the Abortion Legislation Bill. The NZ First parliamentary caucus voted by a majority to support their leader's calls for a referendum. In response, Justice Minister Andrew Little ruled out support for a binding referendum on abortion, claiming that it had not been discussed during the negotiations. NZ First subsequently confirmed that it would support the Abortion Legislation Bill through its first and second readings while pushing for a referendum.
The opposition National Party leader Simon Bridges voiced his support for abortion reform but stated that more safeguards were needed. Voting for the Abortion Legislation Bill was conducted by a conscience vote, allowing MPs to vote individually on the bill. Opposition National MP Amy Adams criticized NZ First's call for a referendum, saying that the matter should be decided by Parliament.
First reading
On 8 August 2019, the New Zealand Parliament held its first vote on the Abortion Legislation Act, which passed by 94 votes against 23. The Act was then referred to the select committee stage. Three National Party MPs were absent from the vote: Alfred Ngaro was overseas but had sent a proxy vote that was not cast; Hamish Walker had voted for the Bill but his vote was discounted under Parliament's rules because he had left the Debating Chamber before the votes were counted; and Jian Yang who had missed the vote.Select committee stage
Submissions for the Abortion Legislation Act were held until 19 September 2019. Labour MP Ruth Dyson was designated Chairperson of the Abortion Legislation Committee. Other Committee members have included Green MP Jan Logie, Labour MPs Priyanca Radhakrishnan and Anahila Kanongata'a-Suisuiki, and National MPs Nikki Kaye and Agnes Loheni. By 9 October 2019, the Abortion Legislation Committee had received 25,000 written submissions from a range of legal and medical experts, religious groups, national organisations and ordinary people sharing personal experiences including Dr Alison Knowles, the Mental Health Foundation, and Family First. Due to the large volume, the Committee confirmed that it would be hearing 150 oral submissions out of the 2,890 who had opted to speak. Family First national director Bob McCoskrie criticised the select committee for excluding certain voices and rushing the process. In response, Dyson reiterated the committee's commitment to hearing a range of perspectives while remarking that "hearing the same thing over and over again doesn't add value to the committee at all." Submissions were held in Auckland on 8 October and scheduled for Christchurch on 11 October and Wellington on 15 October.In 14 February 2020, the Select Committee delivered its report which called for safeguards to address sex selection, late-term abortions and to remove some barriers for women seeking abortions. Another recommendation was requiring a health professional approving abortion after 20 weeks to consult at least one other health professional before authorising an abortion. The definition for consultation was also widened to include Registered Nurses as well and qualified medical practitioners. In addition, Loheni published a minority report criticising the bill for what she regarded as a lack of safeguards on foetal abnormalities and late-term abortions. ACT New Zealand leader David Seymour supported the Select Committee's recommendations but argued that safe zones infringed on freedom of expression.
The New Zealand Medical Association welcomed the changes while Catholic bishops have claimed that the legislation infringes upon the legal rights of unborn children and threatens unborn babies with a fetal disability. Select Committee member Agnes Loheni, who was opposed to the legislation, proposed a supplementary order paper which would return the post 20 week criteria for abortion to where it currently stands under the Crimes Act.
Second reading
On 3 March 2020, the Abortion Legislation Act passed its second reading, albeit by a narrower margin of 81 votes in favor and 39 votes opposed. 35 organisations including Family Planning, the National Council of Women of New Zealand, the New Zealand College of Midwives, the New Zealand Nurses Organisation, the Mental Health Foundation of New Zealand, and Amnesty International Aotearoa NZ signed an open letter supporting the legislation. The anti-abortion group March for Life NZ used graphic images of aborted fetuses to express their opposition. 1300 people in families with Down syndrome subsequently signed an open letter to the Prime Minister calling on the Government to not introduce abortion up-to-birth for Down syndrome.Committee of the Whole House stage
The Committee of the Whole House stage began on 10 March 2020. On the first day of debate on Part 1, parliamentarians narrowly rejected, by 56–59, the first part of David Seymour's amendment to scrap "safe zones" from the Act. However, the second part of Seymour's amendment, which effectively scrapped the proposed "safe zones", was passed during a voting mix-up. Parliament also adopted an amendment by Ruth Dyson dealing with conscientious objectors. In addition, Parliament considered but rejected several amendments including:- Green Co-Leader Marama Davidson's amendment reducing penalties around safe zones and removing political involvement in their setting up ;
- An amendment to remove all statutory tests for abortions up to birth ;
- A supplementary order paper by National MP Parmjeet Parmar aiming to prevent gender-selective abortions failed; and
- An amendment by National MP Simon O'Connor requiring medical intervention of unintended live births after attempted termination.
Third reading
On the evening of 18 March, the Abortion Legislation Act passed its third reading by a margin of 68 to 51. Green MP Marama Davidson attempted to reverse David Seymour's amendment eliminating safe zones around abortion clinics but MPs voted by a margin 77 to 43 against it. During the final reading, the bill's initiator Justice Minister Little argued that it would make significant changes to the country's abortion framework by eliminating abortion from the Crimes Act. Parliamentary Under-Secretary to the Justice Minister, Jan Logie, hailed the bill's passage as a victory for women having the freedom to make decisions about having a child. Abortion Legislation Committee's chair Ruth Dyson and National MP Amy Adams welcomed the bill's passage as long overdue for women's rights but expressed disappointment at the elimination of the safe zones around abortion clinics.During the final reading, Labour List MP Kieran McAnulty spoke about his Catholic faith and being adopted as a child but supported women's reproductive rights. ACT Leader David Seymour expressed support for women's reproductive rights and eliminating abortion from the Crimes Act but defended his amendment to eliminate safe zones. Labour MP Marja Lubeck said that abortion was not a decision that women made lightly, describing the previous legislation as "archaic."
Several MPs opposed to the Abortion Legislation Act also made speeches during the final reading. National MP Agnes Loheni, a member of the Abortion Legislation Committee, described the bill as an "attack on our humanity." She highlighted the fact that 91.6% of the 25,000 submissions had opposed the bill. Labour MP Greg O'Connor expressed concerns that the Bill's Section 11 did not do enough to protect disabled infants while talking about his experiences as the father of a disabled child. National MP Simon O'Connor claimed that the bill did not afford rights and dignity to unborn children. Fellow National MP Andrew Bayly expressed concerns that the bill would allow minors to seek abortions without the knowledge of their parents and guardians. National MP Chris Penk disputed assertions that the previous abortion legislation criminalised women and claimed that the new bill would deny unborn children the right of protection under the law.