Proposed abortion laws to strip 'unnecessary barriers'

Proposed laws that strip away "unnecessary barriers" for women seeking abortions will be introduced to parliament in Western Australia today.

Back in 1998, Western Australia became the country's first state or territory to decriminalise abortion.

A raft of changes are now being proposed in a bid to modernise the current abortion legislation, which is now 25 years old and has been labelled outdated.

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"Those laws have now fallen way behind in terms of community expectations and in terms of best practice for public health processes," Western Australia Minister Roger Cook said. 

"It is important that we modernise these procedures and these laws to make sure women can actually access these sorts of services which are their right to access."

If passed, the legislation will remove abortion from the criminal code and place it in the realm of the Public Health Act.

Under the proposed changes, women will no longer need a referral to seek an abortion.

The gestational limit for late-term abortion will be raised from 20 to 23 weeks. 

After 23 weeks, medical practitioners will be required to consult with another medical practitioner and both need to be satisfied that the circumstances are appropriate for an abortion to be performed.

It will remove the ministerial panel for late gestational abortions, and will also remove the requirement for mandatory counselling.

"Essentially, this bill will remove clinically unnecessary barriers for women who are seeking a safe, legal and private abortion," Health Minister Amber-Jade Sanderson said.

Western Australia Premier Roger Cook said the legislation would be the subject of a conscience vote and he was confident they would pass through parliament.

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