Parliamentarians in New Zealand passed a

historic ruling on Wednesday (March 18) decriminalising abortions – treating the

practise as a matter of health rather than a criminal one.

Effectively cutting the procedure from the

Crimes Act and liberalising access to abortion services simultaneously, the

final vote on the bill passed 68 to 51.

The landmark legislation now heads to Governor-General

Patsy Reddy for the royal assent before becoming law.

Under the new abortion law reform, people

will now be able to access the service from a health practitioner in the first

20 weeks of pregnancy.

Persons will still be able to access abortions

after 20 weeks, provided that the health practitioner proves the procedure is

“clinically appropriate”, with regards to the patient’s physical and

mental health and wellbeing.

That practitioner must then consult a

second practitioner before proceeding.

Abortion currently sits in the Crimes Act;

New Zealanders, however, still follow through with the practise by exploiting a

loophole.

The bill, tabled by Justice Minister Andrew

Little, said it “confirms the right of a woman to continue with her

pregnancy or not”.