NT abortions: Legal rights group calls for legalisation of abortions at any stage of pregnancy

North Territory women should be allowed to undergo abortions at any stage of their pregnancy, a human rights group has said. A new abortion law reform bill will be introduced by the Labor government in parliament next month.

The bill calls for legalisation of the use of RU486 pregnancy termination pill. At present, women who are under 14 weeks pregnant can seek abortions upon being examined by a specialised obstetrician and a gynaecologist.

However, the Human Rights Law Centre (HRLC) is appealing to make abortions at any stage legal without requiring the approval of a doctor. According to AAP (via 9News), NT is the only jurisdiction in Australia that does not allow women to use the RU486 drug. As a result, those living in remote areas need to travel to either Darwin or Alice Springs to undergo an abortion.

The government is considering changes that will make medical abortions easier – including requiring women to counsel before undergoing terminations. While the HRLC supports the changes, it says the reform will not change the law that requires a woman pregnant for more than 23 weeks to not have an abortion unless it is to save her life. Adrianne Walters, HRLC legal advocacy director, called the rule “outdated.”

She said abiding by this rule would mean a raped woman or someone whose foetus suffers from a fatal abnormality will need to carry the pregnancy to term. “This is just plain cruel and hopelessly out of step with community values” she said.

However, the reform is seeing criticism from independent MLA Gerry Wood. “That is just so much against doctors’ rights to have a conscientious objection, and abortion is the taking of a human life and if he or she believes that is wrong you can’t expect them to send them to someone else who will do the abortion because you’re more or less telling them to go against their conscience,” he told ABC.