Abortion and the law in NSW (1 Viewer)

[Spirits]

Hi,

Does anyone know what the legal status is in NSW? I'm not talking about whether abortion is morally right or wrong...Im talking only about the law. Some people talk about trimesters and all this - how abortion is allowed in certain trimesters - but this is NOT referred to AT ALL in the Crimes Act? Infact the Crimes Act doesn't say when abortion would be legal, so I'm assuming we'd turn to the criminal law defence of necessity. And thats what a lot of cases seem to refer to as well (e.g. R v Davidson etc.) However, I don't see where trimesters would come into it? My understanding is that consideration about trimesters etc. are merely part of guidlines that doctors have made of their own accord - there isn't anything in the Crimes Act which says "Abortion is illegal after the 2nd trimester."

So yeah, can any law students clarify this?

 

[bshoc]

Note that most times information is usually falsified, the doctors do something illegal, yet are never prosecuted by the law that supposedly governs them ..

 

[Spirits]

The doctors do get patients to sign a lot of forms, im assuming saying that there is a significant danger to their mental well being. But still, I'm talking about trimesters - people seem to talk about the legality depending on trimesters - but there is absolutely NO reference to trimesters in the law? Can anyone clarify this?

Thanks

 

[^CoSMic DoRiS^^]

i don't know, i couldn't find anything. i suppose though that after a certain point it wouldn't so much be an abortion as a really early labour, if you get what i mean. but thats the only way i can think of that might have legal implications...

 

[^CoSMic DoRiS^^]

Legally you're allowed to abort post-natally up to 157 weeks.

um, what? so you could pretty much legally kill a 2 year old child? that doesnt sound right.

 

[Spirits]

lol, can anyone who gives a time frame also include a reference to a NSW statute OR a case which supports this?

cheers.

 

[Serius]

You would have dificulty finding a doctor willing to abort in the second trimester. They shouldnt be performing abortions at all, considering its directly against the hippocratic oath which they took when they graduated. The baby is viable towards the end of the second trimester and no doctor would abort then unless you would lose your life if you had to deliver.

Alot of places like to do it before 8 weeks right? just that i heard you have to sign alot more forms and go through counceling and shit if you do it after 8 weeks.

 

[jimmayyy]

i thought it was around 12 weeks.

 

[dagwoman]

Almost everywhere will do up to 12 weeks, some up to 16. Anywhere beyond that is pretty rare, and only in really extreme circumstances.

 

[*Minka*]

I believe it is quite easy to obtain an abortion in the first trimester, with abortions after that being a result of the woman's life being in danger or severe fetal defects. By 20 weeks, i imagine that if you are pregnant, it is because you want the baby anyway.

 

[ari89]

Should be reliable info here:

http://www.childrenbychoice.org.au/nwww/auslawsum.htm
http://www.childrenbychoice.org.au/nwww/auslawprac.htm

 

[LaraB]

ss 82-84 talk about the "unlawful procurement" of an abortion... So that would infer therefore that there are "'lawful" abortions, given that they feel a need to define unlawful ones separately.

I can't recall the authority for it but its a very "contract-style" process whereby a test for whether it is lawful or not is based on a medical practitioner's "honest and reasonable belief" that it's necessary. And necessary can be for physical or non-physical health, so it does include the whole pregnancy resulting from rape situation in some cases.

The law's pretty flexible as far as abortion goes - very much a case by case approach (at least in theory, there are of course some limits such as the means used to abort the baby).

It's not as strict as a trimester rule but the later you get, teh harder it is to convince a doctor of harm, especially mental harm, to the mother. They aren't really guides for doctors as such since the doctors decision is supposed to be based on the test above, it's more a consideration they have as to whether it will be good for teh mother to abort at a later stage health wise. Risks increase the later you leave it generally so seems to be more of an issue in that way.

 

[Talitha31]

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=MrXvDXVhqfU

starts after abou 1 min

QFT