224
Attempts to procure abortion
Any person who, with intent to procure the miscarriage of a woman,
whether she is or is not with child, unlawfully administers to her or causes
her to take any poison or other noxious thing, or uses any force of any kind,
or uses any other means whatever, is guilty of a crime, and is liable to
imprisonment for 14 years.
225
The like by women with child
Any woman who, with intent to procure her own miscarriage, whether
she is or is not with child, unlawfully administers to herself any poison or
other noxious thing, or uses any force of any kind, or uses any other means
whatever, or permits any such thing or means to be administered or used to
her, is guilty of a crime, and is liable to imprisonment for 7 years.
226
Supplying drugs or instruments to procure abortion
Any person who unlawfully supplies to or procures for any person
anything whatever, knowing that it is intended to be unlawfully used to
procure the miscarriage of a woman, whether she is or is not with child, is
guilty of a misdemeanour, and is liable to imprisonment for 3 years.
* * *
282
Surgical operations
A person is not criminally responsible for performing in good faith and
with reasonable care and skill a surgical operation upon any person for the
patient’s benefit, or upon an unborn child for the preservation of the
mother’s life, if the performance of the operation is reasonable, having
regard to the patient’s state at the time and to all
circumstances of the case.
* * *
292
When a child becomes a human being
A child becomes a person capable of being killed when it has completely
proceeded in a living state from the body of its mother, whether it has
breathed or not, and whether it has an independent circulation or not, and
whether the navel-string is severed or not.
* * *
294
Death by acts done at childbirth
When a child dies in consequence of an act done or omitted to be done
by any person before or during its birth, the person who did or omitted to
do such act is deemed to have killed the child.
* * *
313
Killing unborn child
(1) Any person who, when a female is about to be delivered of a child,
prevents the child from being born alive by any act or omission of such a
nature that, if the child had been born alive and had then died, the person
would be deemed to have unlawfully killed the child, is guilty of a crime,
and is liable to imprisonment for life.
(2) Any person who unlawfully assaults a female pregnant with a child
and destroys the life of, or does grievous bodily harm to, or transmits a
serious disease to, the child before its birth, commits a crime.
Maximum penalty—imprisonment for life.
NOTE: Under Queensland case law the above provisions have been interpreted to allow the performance of a legal abortion if a medical practitioner has an honest belief on reasonable grounds that the abortion is necessary to preserve the woman from a serious danger to her life or physical or mental health not being merely the normal dangers of pregnancy and childbirth which the continuance of pregnancy would entail and, in the circumstances, it is not out of proportion to the danger to be averted.