Abortion law reform and Zoe’s Law-like bill need to be considered together

AMA (NSW) President, Dr Kean-Seng Lim, says that any bill affording personhood to a foetus must be reviewed in conjunction with abortion laws.

“This is particularly relevant in NSW as it is the only state in Australia where abortion is still a crime.

“The NSW Premier is backing a law giving legal recognition to unborn children.”

“This could put in jeopardy the rights of women to legal abortion.”

“As with its predecessors, such a bill runs the risk of adversely impacting the health of women.”

“The current law provides women with choice by allowing abortion to take place legally in exceptional circumstances, even if this remains on the criminal code.

“From a medical perspective, these issues cannot be viewed in isolation.

“They must be addressed together, otherwise there could be profound and unforeseen side-effects that limit women’s choices and punish doctors.

“For some time, AMA (NSW) has been recommending that NSW abortion law be referred to the Law Reform Commission.

“This continues to be our position,” Dr Lim said.

Media contact: Lachlan Jones 0419 402 955