Attempt to wind back Termination of Pregnancy Act a regressive step
The Law Society is concerned by repeated attempts to wind back recent reforms that updated South Australia's archaic abortion laws.
In 2021, led by then Attorney General Vickie Chapman, significant reforms were made to South Australia’s abortion laws, which had previously not been amended for 50 years and were completely out of step with contemporary attitudes and medical evidence.
The reforms largely reflect the recommendations in the South Australian Law Reform Institute’s comprehensive 2019 report into abortion laws, which recommended a full decriminalisation model and noted that a woman’s autonomy and best healthcare should be respected and promoted.
The key features of the current Termination of Pregnancy Act are that it removes abortion from criminal law but still prescribes conditions for terminating pregnancies over 22 weeks and 6 days.
For these “late-term” abortions, two doctors must agree that an abortion is appropriate in order either to save the life of the pregnant woman, or to save another foetus, or that continuing the pregnancy would place significant physical or mental health risks to the pregnant woman, or there is a significant risk of serious foetal anomalies associated with the pregnancy.
The Law Society, as well as South Australia’s most prominent medical and human rights groups, strongly opposed last year’s attempts to restrict access to late-term abortions, noting that such restrictions would undermine essential healthcare.
In the wake of another attempt to reduce access to late-term abortion, the Law Society’s position remains unchanged.
In the Law Society’s view, a medical professional is best placed to assess the individual circumstances of a patient and treat them according to the best medical practice standards and the rigorous ethical framework under which all medical professionals must operate. The law ought not to unduly interfere with or restrict the capacity of medical professionals to provide appropriate, individualised and evidence-based patient care.
Widespread community consultation, expert evidence, thorough analysis, and significant public debate culminated in the long-overdue reforms to align abortion laws with contemporary attitudes and modern health care standards. Unwinding these laws would conflict with the overwhelming medical evidence about the best patient care.
Further reading: The facts about SA's abortion reforms.
Marissa Mackie
President
Law Society of South Australia