Berejiklian won't speak on abortion bill, as doctors slam 'insulting' amendments
NSW Premier Gladys Berejiklian is unlikely to speak on the bill to decriminalise abortions, but is expected to support some amendments amid an intensifying debate over the regulation of late-term abortions.
It comes as the NSW Australian Medical Association (AMA) warned the bill risked being "derailed by unfounded fearmongering on abortion", and slammed a raft of amendments proposed by NSW Attorney General Mark Speakman and Planning Minister Rob Stokes.
The AMA said the amendments, which impose additional requirements around abortions performed after 22 weeks, "go against the spirit in which the bill was introduced – in fact, they are a perversion of it."
"[I]f voted into law, they would mean access to abortion in NSW would become very restrictive by Australian standards," the AMA said in a statement.
The "most concerning" amendment, the AMA said, was the move to require "a hospital advisory committee" comprising a four-person panel approve all terminations after 22 weeks.
"This would place women at significant risk of unnecessary delay and only add to their suffering, particularly women in regional and rural areas."
Liberal MP Kevin Conolly has also proposed a package of amendments, which include lowering the threshold to 20 weeks, and a requirement that women be offered counselling.
It is understood Ms Berejiklian has concerns around late term abortions. The Premier has previously said she supported the bill and is considering supporting some of the amendments put forward by the MPs, but is unlikely to air her reasons in the chamber.
Deputy Premier John Barilaro will also not speak, but has said he will "support the bill in full."
Labor leader Jodi McKay will support the bill. Detailing her reasons on Tuesday night, Ms McKay said a woman's decision to have an abortion "is a deeply personal one between her and her doctor.
"How she justifies that decision and the path that leads her to it is a matter for her and her alone."
A vote is now unlikely to happen before Thursday evening, after what is expected to be a lengthy debate over amendments.
MPs from across the political divide have indicated they will support amendments, as many put on the record their concerns with the bill's regulation of abortions after 22 weeks.
These include Treasurer Dominic Perrottet, Customer Service Minister Victor Dominello, Labor's TAFE spokesman Jihad Dib, and Shooters, Fishers and Farmers MPs Roy Butler and Philip Donato.
Mr Donato and Agricultural Minister Adam Marshall were among those who said they supported decriminalisation, but were still likely to support some amendments.
Mr Stokes, on Tuesday night, said the amendments would "ensure that late-term abortions are only conducted by highly qualified specialists with appropriate peer review."
The amendments will also require termination after 22 weeks to be performed by a "specialist medical practitioner" in a public hospital, or in a private hospital approved by the Health Minister.
They will also include a legislative requirement for women to give "informed consent", something the AMA said was "unnecessary and insulting" as doctors were required to obtain consent.
Local Government Minister Shelley Hancock, who is supporting the bill, hit out at her Liberal colleagues for attempting to change the bill.
"I implore many of the men in this chamber who have moved amendments to stop dabbling in the lives of women. Stay out of the lives of women," Ms Hancock said.
"There are no complications in this bill. None."
She added she would consider "sensible amendments" but not those "designed to defeat and defer this bill".
The decriminalisation bill, introduced by independent MP Alex Greenwich, allows abortion on request for women up to 22 weeks' gestation performed by a registered doctor.
Women beyond 22 weeks would need the consent of two doctors.
Mr Greenwich said he was "concerned" about how the amendments would impact "women's access to safe and legal abortion" and was working with the proponents, alongside medical and legal experts, to "address and resolve these concerns".