Termination of Pregnancy Bill passes Lower House in ‘historic day’ for SA women

The controversial Termination of Pregnancy Bill passed the Lower House in the early hours of the morning. See how your local MP voted here.

The Termination of Pregnancy Bill has passed the Lower House. Picture: NCA Newswire/Naomi Jellicoe

Controversial abortion law reforms have passed South Australia’s Lower House following a long night of debate.

The Termination of Pregnancy Bill, which decriminalises abortion and allows late-term abortion under certain provisions, passed 29 votes to 15 just after 2am on Friday.

It followed a full week of parliamentary debate, with several amendments lodged by an array of MPs.

Despite the Bill undergoing several changes, Attorney-General Vickie Chapman said it was a “historic day for the women of South Australia”.

“I congratulate all those who worked on this Bill and the parliament for endorsing this important piece of legislation,” she said on social media.

“This is about giving women choice. It’s about removing outdated barriers to access for women, while ensuring safeguarding measures are in place where necessary.”

The Bill will be sent back to the Upper House, where it must get the final tick of approval before the laws come into effect.

The Termination of Pregnancy Bill has passed the Lower House; vote 29-15.

This is an historic day for the women of South Australia.

I congratulate all those who worked on this Bill and the Parliament for endorsing this importance piece of legislation.

PIC - @HanSouthcombe pic.twitter.com/a7Ng3typ9f

— Vickie Chapman (@VickieChapmanMP) February 18, 2021

Once passed, the Bill would remove abortion from the criminal code, turning it into a health issue.

It would also allow for abortions after 22 weeks and six days’ gestation, if two medical practitioners both agree it is “medically appropriate”.

However, late amendments filed by the Attorney-General provided specific provisions for late-term abortions.

Under the current form of the Bill that passed the Lower House, two medical practitioners must both agree that the procedure is necessary to save the life of the pregnant person or another foetus, or if there is a significant risk of injury to “physical or mental health”.

Another amendment also put an explicit ban on abortions for gender selection purposes.

“We do not actually appreciate that there are any sex selection practices happening in Australia,” Ms Chapman said.

SA Law Society president Rebecca Sandford welcomed the passing of the Bill through the Lower House.

“The Society considers that the Bill as introduced into the House of Assembly should ideally have been passed without amendment, but acknowledges the reality of the parliamentary process and the compromise required to make positive advancements in law reform.”

The SA Abortion Action Coalition said the passing of the Bill was a “step forward” for the state.

“This bill removed outdated barriers that limited access and treats abortion as the health care procedure it is,” a statement said.

“This is a particularly important change for rural and remote South Australia.”

A total of 15 MPs, including Tom Koutsantonis, David Speirs and Stephen Mullighan voted against the Bill – mainly due to the late-term abortion aspects of the Bill.

Mr Speirs, who attempted to move a series of his own amendments, said the Bill did not have strong enough restrictions.

“I do support the decriminalisation of abortion in this state, and my attempts through moving a range of amendments were not done in a way that sought to be misogynistic,” he told parliament.

“I did not seek to belittle or degrade women in any way whatsoever. I believe passionately in gender equality.”

Both Mr Speirs and Mr Koutsantonis, despite voting against the Bill, celebrated that abortion will be decriminalised and moved to the health code in SA.

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