I intend to introduce the Reproductive Healthcare Reform Bill 2019 into Parliament this week. It is time to bring NSW into line with other states and territories by regulating termination of pregnancies as a medical procedure and decriminalising abortion.

The bill ensures women in NSW will have access to safe and lawful terminations without the threat of criminal convictions and provides doctors with legal clarity. It will remove the threat of 10 years in prison and allow access to a termination of pregnancy with a conscientious objection clause that obliges doctors to refer patients to other medical practitioners. See my interview on Sky News: HERE

I’ve worked on this bill with cross party members Trevor Khan, Penny Sharpe, Jo Haylen and Minister for Health Brad Hazzard, building on the Queensland and Victorian laws and their extensive law reform commission reviews. The NSW Pro-Choice Alliance HERE of 70+ organisations including the Women’s Electoral Lobby, Family Planning NSW, Women’s Health NSW, Human Rights Law Centre and Australian Medical Association support the reform.

See the Sun Herald editorial HERE and Family Planning’s Deborah Bateson’s article in the Sydney Morning Herald: HERE