Legal abortions on state agenda

THE long and often bitter battle to legalise abortion on demand has moved to NSW, with doctors, law reformers and politicians joining forces to have the procedure removed from the Crimes Act.

THE long and often bitter battle to legalise abortion on demand has moved to NSW, with doctors, law reformers and politicians joining forces to have the procedure removed from the Crimes Act.

But the fight will be uphill.

NSW Attorney-General John Hatzistergos issued a statement yesterday confirming the Government's reluctance to change laws that make abortion a crime in some circumstances.

The law in Victoria was changed in November, after a long public campaign.

Abortion is now available on demand until 24-weeks gestation in that state.

Leading abortion-rights activists Lachlan de Crespigny, who spoke yesterday at a Sydney conference on legal termination, said the NSW Government should not wait for the law to "fail" before changing it.

"Doctors are scared to work in this field," Professor de Crespigny said.

"They'd be crazy not to be scared."

Professor de Crespigny was investigated in Victoria in 2002 for aborting a foetus afflicted with dwarfism.

No charges were laid but he no longer provides abortions, saying the case was too stressful.

Greens MP Lee Rhiannon said change would be tougher in NSW because of the number of social conservatives in power.

"(Former premiers) Carr and Iemma were always opposed and (Premier) Nathan Rees hasn't made his position clear," Ms Rhiannon said.

"What we need to do is get public opinion on our side, as happened in Victoria. We need to show people this is a health issue, not a legal issue. We will be telling Nathan Rees that his counterpart in Victoria was willing to do it, and didn't suffer electorally for it."

Ms Rhiannon said abortion remained a serious criminal offence in NSW, attracting a prison sentence of up to 10 years.

"A woman or doctor can still be prosecuted in NSW and it is open for a conservative judge to change the rules on when a lawful abortion can occur," she said.

Ms Rhiannon has planned a May 1 rally at state parliament, where speakers will include academic Eurdice Aroney, whose documentary on the death of her grandmother after an illegal abortion in 1942 won a Walkley Award.

But Mr Hatzistergos said current law "provides for legal abortion under certain circumstances and it adequately protects both women and health professionals".

If the Government declines to act, the Greens intend to introduce their own bill.

The ACT decriminalised abortion in 2002 and in Western Australia, abortion is lawful to the 20th week of gestation, after which approval from doctors is needed.

In NSW, abortion is part of the Crimes Act, although common law has made it possible for doctors to provide abortions.

In R v Ward (1971), Justice Levine ruled abortion could be lawful if there was any economic, social or medical ground or reason upon which a doctor believed that an abortion was required to avoid a "serious danger to the pregnant woman's life or to her physical or mental health".