1 Name of Act
This Act is the Medical Practitioners (Maternal Health)
Amendment Act 2002.
2 Commencement
(1) This Act
commences on the day after the Health Regulation (Maternal Health Information)
Repeal Act 2002 commences.
(2) If this Act
has not commenced within 6 months beginning on the notification day, it expires
at the end of that period.
3 Act amended
This Act amends the Medical Practitioners Act 1930.
4 New part 4B
insert:
Part 4B Abortions
55A Meaning of abortion
for pt 4B
In this part:
abortion means causing a woman’s
miscarriage by:
(a) administering a drug; or
(b) using an instrument; or
(c) any other means.
55B Only medical practitioner may carry out abortion
A person who is not a registered medical practitioner must
not carry out an abortion.
Maximum penalty: imprisonment for 5 years.
55C Abortion to be
carried out in approved medical facility
A person must not carry out an abortion except in a medical
facility, or part of a medical facility, approved under section 55D (1).
Maximum penalty: 50 penalty units, imprisonment for 6 months
or both.
55D Approval of facilities
(1) If a medical
facility is suitable on medical grounds for carrying out abortions, the
Minister may, in writing, approve the medical facility or an appropriate part
of the medical facility.
(2) An approval
is a notifiable instrument.
Note A notifiable instrument must be notified under the Legislation
Act 2001.
(3) The Minister
must not unreasonably refuse or delay a request for approval of a medical
facility under subsection (1).
55E No obligation
to carry out abortion
(1) No-one is
under a duty (by contract or by statutory or other legal requirement) to carry
out or assist in carrying out an abortion.
(2) A person is
entitled to refuse to assist in carrying out an abortion.
Crimes (Abolition of Offence of Abortion) Act 2002 (Act
2002 No 24),
1 Name of Act
This Act is the Crimes (Abolition of Offence of Abortion)
Act 2002.
2 Commencement
This Act commences on its notification day.
3 Crimes Act
1900, sections 44 to 46
substitute:
44 Abortion—abolition
of common law offence
(1) Any rule of
common law that creates an offence in relation to procuring a woman’s
miscarriage is abrogated.
(2) This section
expires 3 months after it commences.
(3) This section
is a law to which the Legislation Act 2001, section 88 applies.