NSW Parliament introduces abortion law reforms

A new bill before the NSW parliament is set to introduce abortion law reforms aimed at prohibiting sex-selective abortions.

The bill would prohibit the performance of terminations on persons due to sex selection, amending the Abortion Law Reform Act 2019. It would also prohibit the use of assisted reproductive technology treatment for sex selection, amending the Assisted Reproductive Technology Act 2007.

The bill does not eliminate “abortion as a whole” but “only intends to eliminate the practice of aborting unborn children on the grounds of their sex” and to “penalise medical practitioners who conduct a sex-selective abortion,” said Fred Nile MLC, the MP who introduced the legislation. He added that the bill is being introduced “for the sake of unborn girls,” referring to the fact that females are the targets of sex-selective abortion.

The law further seeks to introduce professional liability for registered health practitioners who perform the prohibited acts and nullify approved professional indemnity insurance to the extent that it covers said prohibitions.

During his second-reading speech, Nile pointed out that certain parliament members have previously denied the existence of sex-selective abortion in NSW.

“They claimed that reports of said abortions have been misread and misrepresented, or they just outright denied the fact,” he said.

However, Nile explained that “the evidence is piling up year by year, month by month, day by day,” which he claimed proves the existence of sex-selective abortion in the state. Nile also pointed to an NSW Health report in 2020 that published “documented requests made to providers.”

The second reading concluded on 17 November in the Legislative Council.