New Zealand advances legislation that would decriminalize abortion

The legislation removes abortion from the criminal code and removes statutory health tests by physicians for women who are under 20 weeks pregnant. Under current law, abortions are only legal with the approval of two doctors who both agree that the pregnancy would threaten the health of the mother, is a case of incest, or that the fetus carries an abnormality.

Justice Minister Andrew Little announced the legislation Monday, saying, “Abortion is the only medical procedure that is still a crime in New Zealand. It’s time for this to change.”

“This bill will modernize the laws on abortion, by removing it from the Crimes Act and bringing the law into line with many other developed countries,” he added.

Despite being in the country’s criminal code, there has never been a conviction under New Zealand’s current abortion laws.

The law must go through a parliamentary select committee and then there will likely be additional readings on the legislation before being passed into law in about six months.

The move comes as states across the United States have loosened abortion restrictions in recent months and others have tightened them. New York signed into law the Reproductive Health Act, which allows for abortion anytime during a woman’s pregnancy “when necessary to protect a woman’s life or health.” In June, Maine’s Democratic Gov. Janet Mills signed into law legislation that allows physician assistants and advanced practice registered nurses, not just doctors, to perform abortions. Republican Vermont Gov. Phil Scott also signed a bill protecting women’s access to abortion this year.

Other states have tightened restrictions, including Alabama, which passed a law outlawing abortion unless the mother’s life is threatened and made performing abortions a felony punishable by up to 99 years in prison. The law remains blocked, however, after a federal judge ruled it was unconstitutional and an appeals court upheld the ruling.