Contraception, Sterilisation, and Abortion Act 1977, also known as the CS&A Act 1977, is an Act of Parliament in

New Zealand New Zealand ( mi, Aotearoa ) is an island country in the southwestern Pacific Ocean. It consists of two main landmasses—the North Island () and the South Island ()—and over 700 smaller islands. It is the sixth-largest island count ...

. It was passed shortly following an inquiry by the

Royal Commission on Contraception, Sterilisation and Abortion __NOTOC__ The Royal Commission on Contraception, Sterilisation and Abortion was carried out in New Zealand from 1975 to 1977, shortly after the 1975 general election. The members of the Royal Commission were M. D. Matich, Barbara J. Thomson, Dame ...

. The legislation established the legal framework for abortion in New Zealand; with abortions being allowed provided the procedure was approved by two certifying consultants and that the circumstances met the criteria of the

Crimes Act 1961 The Crimes Act 1961 is an act of New Zealand Parliament that forms a leading part of the criminal law in New Zealand. It repeals the Crimes Act 1908, itself a successor of the Criminal Code Act 1893. Most crimes in New Zealand are created by ...

. In March 2020, several of its provisions were amended by the

Abortion Legislation Act 2020 The New Zealand Abortion Legislation Act 2020 is an Act of Parliament in New Zealand that amends the law to decriminalise abortion. Under the act, abortion is available without restrictions to any woman who is not more than 20 weeks pregnant. W ...

, which eased access to abortion and eliminated most of the criteria established by the Crimes Act 1961.

Legislative features

1977 legislation

The Contraception, Sterilisation and Abortion Act 1977 regulated the supply of contraceptives to young people, the conditions that sterilisations could be undertaken, and the circumstances under which abortions could be authorised. The legislation decriminalised abortions for pregnancies of less than 20 weeks on the condition that it was authorised by two certifying consultants and that it met the following criteria under Sections 182–187A of the

and two amendments passed in December 1977 and July 1978: *to save the life of the woman (even if after 20 weeks); *to preserve the physical health of the woman; *to preserve the

mental health Mental health encompasses emotional, psychological, and social well-being, influencing cognition, perception, and behavior. It likewise determines how an individual handles stress, interpersonal relationships, and decision-making. Mental health ...

of the woman; * foetal impairment; and *in cases of

incest Incest ( ) is human sexual activity between family members or close relatives. This typically includes sexual activity between people in consanguinity (blood relations), and sometimes those related by affinity (marriage or stepfamily), adoption ...

Other factors which may be taken into account were: *extremes of age; and *sexual violation (previously rape) After 20 weeks gestation, the grounds for abortion were: *to save the life of the mother; *to prevent serious permanent injury to the physical or mental health of the mother. The CS&A Act also established an Abortion Supervisory Committee for regulating and licensing certifying consultants. It also made it illegal for health employers to deny employment to medical practitioners on the basis of their

conscientious objection A conscientious objector (often shortened to conchie) is an "individual who has claimed the right to refuse to perform military service" on the grounds of freedom of thought, conscience, or religion. The term has also been extended to objecti ...

to abortion.

2020 amendments

The

replaces Sections 10 to 46 of the CS&A Act 1977 with Sections 10–14 and Sections 19–21. While Sections 15 to 17 created safe areas around abortion service providers, these clauses were eliminated from the final version of the law. The amended bill also abolishes the Abortion Supervisory Committee and delegates its former responsibilities to the

Minister of Health A health minister is the member of a country's government typically responsible for protecting and promoting public health and providing welfare and other social security services. Some governments have separate ministers for mental health. Coun ...

and the

Director-General of Health A director general or director-general (plural: ''directors general'', ''directors-general'', ''director generals'' or ''director-generals'' ) or general director is a senior executive officer, often the chief executive officer, within a government ...

. The amended clauses are: *Section 10: A health practitioner may provide abortion services to a woman who is not more than 20 weeks pregnant. *Section 11: After 20 weeks, a health practitioner can only provide abortion services to a woman if it is deemed "clinically appropriate" and if they consult at least one other qualified practitioner. *Section 13: A health practitioner must advise a woman of the availability of counselling services if the woman seeks advice on whether to continue or terminate a pregnancy; advises the health practitioner of her intention to terminate the pregnancy; or has terminated pregnancy. *Section 14: A health practitioner cannot force a woman to seek counselling as a condition for procuring an abortion. *Section 19: A health practitioner with a

to abortion must inform the patient and provide them with information on accessing alternative abortion providers. *Section 20: Employer providing certain services must accommodate conscientious objection of applicant or employee unless it would cause unreasonable disruption. Abortion is regulated by the Ministry of Health and the Director-General of Health, which oversee the collection and publication of information relating to abortion services and providers. Section 20F prohibits abortion for the sole purpose of

sex selection Sex selection is the attempt to control the sex of the offspring to achieve a desired sex. It can be accomplished in several ways, both pre- and post-implantation of an embryo, as well as at childbirth. It has been marketed under the title family ...

. *Section 21: The

Governor-General Governor-general (plural ''governors-general''), or governor general (plural ''governors general''), is the title of an office-holder. In the context of governors-general and former British colonies, governors-general are appointed as viceroy t ...

has the authority to direct the Director-General of Health to collection.

2022 amendments

The

Contraception, Sterilisation, and Abortion (Safe Areas) Amendment Act 2022 The Contraception, Sterilisation, and Abortion (Safe Areas) Amendment Act 2022 is an Act of Parliament in New Zealand that will provide a regulation-making power to set up safe areas around specific abortion facilities on a case-by-case basis. ...

inserts Sections 13A to 13C which: *Section 13A: Prohibits obstructing, filming in an intimidating manner, dissuading or protesting against those trying to access abortion services in designated "safe areas." *Section 13B: Empowers Police to arrest those engaging in the above prohibited activities. *Section 13C: Creates safe spaces of no more than 150 metres around abortion providers.

History

In response to growing calls for the decriminalisation of abortion in New Zealand during the 1960s and 1970s, the

New Zealand Parliament The New Zealand Parliament ( mi, Pāremata Aotearoa) is the unicameral legislature of New Zealand, consisting of the King of New Zealand ( King-in-Parliament) and the New Zealand House of Representatives. The King is usually represented by h ...

established a

in 1975 to consider abortion and these other issues. Based on the Royal Commission's recommendations, Parliament passed the Contraception, Sterilisation, and Abortion Act 1977, which established the regulatory framework for abortion. Women seeking abortion had to see their doctor and two medical consultants, who would assess the mental and physical grounds for carrying out an abortion under the criteria of the Crimes Act 1961. A surgeon would be needed to perform an abortion and counselling was also made available to women seeking an abortion. The CS&A Act also established an Abortion Supervisory Committee to regulate the consultation process and required district health boards to fund abortion services. Feminists and abortion-rights groups considered the CS&A Act's legal framework too strict, leading the Third National Government to amend the Crime Act. Subsequent amendments to the Crimes Act 1961 in 1977 and 1978 permitted abortion within 20 weeks on mental and physical health grounds; abortion after 20 weeks for the purpose of saving the mother's life, physical, and mental health; foetal abnormality within the first 20 weeks; and incest. In 1986, the

Fourth Labour Government The Fourth Labour Government of New Zealand governed New Zealand from 26 July 1984 to 2 November 1990. It was the first Labour government to win a second consecutive term since the First Labour Government of 1935 to 1949. The policy agenda o ...

amended the Crimes Act to account for the extremes of age and sexual violation as mitigating grounds for abortion. Over the next three decades, politicians and abortion-rights groups lobbied for amending the CS&A Act to ease the criteria for abortions. In late March 2020, the Sixth Labour Government passed the

, which replaced Sections 10 to 46 of the CS&A Act with new clauses allowing women to seek abortion in the first 20 weeks of pregnancy; and only requiring consultations with two health practitioners after 20 weeks. In March 2021, the

was introduced into Parliament. It proposed the creation of safe areas around abortion providers where certain "prohibited behaviour" would be banned. The Bill passed its first reading on 10 March (by a margin of 100 to 15) and proceeded to select committee stage. The Bill passed its third reading on 16 March 2022, becoming law on 18 March 2022.

References

External links

*{{cite web , title=Contraception, Sterilisation, and Abortion Act 1977 , url=http://www.legislation.govt.nz/act/public/1977/0112/latest/DLM17680.html , website=Legislation New Zealand , publisher= Parliamentary Counsel Office , accessdate=25 March 2020 Statutes of New Zealand New Zealand abortion law 1977 in New Zealand law