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55-741: The Abortion Legislation Act 2020 is an Act of Parliament in New Zealand allowing unrestricted access to abortion within the first 20 weeks of pregnancy, and repealing sections of the Crimes Act 1961 related to unlawful abortion. After the 20-week period, women seeking an abortion must consult a qualified health practitioner who will assess their physical health, mental health, and well-being. The Act also provides provisions for conscientious objection rights for medical practitioners and exempts abortion services from certain Crimes Act provisions, while extending

110-531: A binding referendum on the Abortion Legislation Bill. The NZ First parliamentary caucus voted by a majority to support their leader's calls for a referendum. In response, Justice Minister Andrew Little ruled out support for a binding referendum on abortion, claiming that it had not been discussed during the negotiations. NZ First subsequently confirmed that it would support the Abortion Legislation Bill through its first and second readings while pushing for

165-518: A late-night chat show that was canceled after one year. In 2007, he succeeded Susan Wood as host of Close Up , which was at that point a daily current affairs programme and the successor to the Holmes show. Sainsbury won the 2007 Best Presenter Qantas Media Award for fronting Close Up . He left TVNZ at the end of 2012 when Close Up was cancelled; the final episode aired on 30 November. In February 2016, Sainsbury returned to daily broadcasting as

220-549: A margin 77 to 43 against it. During the final reading, the bill's initiator Justice Minister Little argued that it would make significant changes to the country's abortion framework by eliminating abortion from the Crimes Act. Parliamentary Under-Secretary to the Justice Minister, Jan Logie , hailed the bill's passage as a victory for women having the freedom to make decisions about having a child. Abortion Legislation Committee's chair Ruth Dyson and National MP Amy Adams welcomed

275-534: A miscarriage (Section 44). Under the Abortion Legislation Act, women can seek an abortion without restrictions within the first 20 weeks of their pregnancy. After the 20 week period, women seeking an abortion must consult a qualified health practitioner who will assess the patient's physical health, mental health, and well-being. The Act also requires medical practitioners who have a conscientious objection to performing abortions to inform their patients at

330-401: A number of stages before it can become law. In theory, this allows the bill's provisions to be debated in detail, and for amendments to the original bill to also be introduced, debated, and agreed to. In bicameral parliaments, a bill that has been approved by the chamber into which it was introduced then sends the bill to the other chamber. Broadly speaking, each chamber must separately agree to

385-545: A person who is not a health practitioner to procure or perform an abortion for a woman. The Abortion Legislation Act also extends the definition of health services in the Health and Disability Commissioner Act 1994 (HDC Act) to include abortion services. Before the Abortion Legislation Act 2020, abortion was only decriminalised in New Zealand on certain grounds: to preserve the life of the woman (even if after 20 weeks), to preserve

440-460: A private member's bill). In Australia, the bill passes through the following stages: In Canada, the bill passes through the following stages: The committee considers each clause of the bill, and may make amendments to it. Significant amendments may be made at the committee stage. In some cases, whole groups of clauses are inserted or removed. However, if the Government holds a majority, almost all

495-561: A private members bill, the Contraception, Sterilisation, and Abortion (Safe Areas) Amendment Bill was introduced into the New Zealand Parliament. Its purpose is to create safe areas around abortion facilities, on a case-by-case basis, "to protect the safety and well-being, and respect the privacy and dignity, of women accessing abortion facilities and practitioners providing and assisting with abortion services". On 16 March 2022,

550-444: A referendum on the abortion law changes by margin of 100 to 19. New Zealand First had proposed a referendum on the changes in return for supporting the passage of the legislation through Parliament. On the evening of 18 March, the Abortion Legislation Act passed its third reading by a margin of 68 to 51. Green MP Marama Davidson attempted to reverse David Seymour's amendment eliminating safe zones around abortion clinics but MPs voted by

605-434: A referendum. The opposition National Party leader Simon Bridges voiced his support for abortion reform but stated that more safeguards were needed. Voting for the Abortion Legislation Bill was conducted by a conscience vote, allowing MPs to vote individually on the bill. Opposition National MP Amy Adams criticized NZ First's call for a referendum, saying that the matter should be decided by Parliament. On 8 August 2019,

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660-572: A specific chamber. For example, bills imposing a tax , or involving public expenditure , are introduced into the House of Commons in the United Kingdom, Canada's House of Commons , Lok Sabha of India and Ireland's Dáil as a matter of law. Conversely, bills proposed by the Law Commission and consolidation bills traditionally start in the House of Lords . Once introduced, a bill must go through

715-532: A supplementary order paper which would return the post 20 week criteria for abortion to where it currently stands under the Crimes Act. On 3 March 2020, the Abortion Legislation Act passed its second reading, albeit by a narrower margin of 81 votes in favor and 39 votes opposed. 35 organisations including Family Planning, the National Council of Women of New Zealand , the New Zealand College of Midwives ,

770-526: A test for later-term abortions, after 22 weeks. The Government adopted the third approach but reduced it to 20 weeks. While abortion-rights groups like the Abortion Law Reform Association of New Zealand (ALRANZ) and Family Planning have welcomed the proposed changes but criticized the 20 week limit, the Government's proposed abortion law reform was opposed by the conservative lobby group Family First New Zealand . According to media reports,

825-401: Is known as a bill . In other words, a bill is a proposed law that needs to be discussed in the parliament before it can become a law. In territories with a Westminster system , most bills that have any possibility of becoming law are introduced into parliament by the government. This will usually happen following the publication of a " white paper ", setting out the issues and the way in which

880-589: Is presented to the Governor General , who gives it royal assent . Although the Governor General can refuse to assent a bill, this power has never been exercised. Bills being reviewed by Parliament are assigned numbers: 2 to 200 for government bills, 201 to 1000 for private member's bills , and 1001 up for private bills . They are preceded by C- if they originate in the House of Commons, or S- if they originate in

935-481: The Labour-led coalition government would be introducing new legislation to decriminalise abortion and to allow women unrestricted access to abortion within the 20 week gestation period. The New Zealand Law Commission had proposed three options for abortion reform: having no statutory test to make sure the abortion was appropriate at any point; taking abortion off the Crimes Act but having a statutory test; or only having

990-685: The New Zealand Nurses Organisation , the Mental Health Foundation of New Zealand , and Amnesty International Aotearoa NZ signed an open letter supporting the legislation. The anti-abortion group March for Life NZ used graphic images of aborted fetuses to express their opposition. 1300 people in families with Down syndrome subsequently signed an open letter to the Prime Minister calling on the Government to not introduce abortion up-to-birth for Down syndrome. The Committee of

1045-582: The CSA Act. The Act also repeals Sections 183 to 187A of the Crimes Act including the 14 year prison term for any persons with the exception of the woman or girl seeking to unlawfully procure abortion (section 183); a seven year prison term for persons who unlawfully provide the means of procuring an abortion (section 186), and seeking an abortion illegally before or after the 20 week gestation period (section 187). The Abortion Legislation Act replaces these sections with section 183 (clause 12) which makes it an offense for

1100-517: The Crimes Act but defended his amendment to eliminate safe zones. Labour MP Marja Lubeck said that abortion was not a decision that women made lightly, describing the previous legislation as "archaic." Several MPs opposed to the Abortion Legislation Act also made speeches during the final reading. National MP Agnes Loheni, a member of the Abortion Legislation Committee, described the bill as an "attack on our humanity." She highlighted

1155-648: The Irish Parliament, the Oireachtas , bills pass through the following stages. Bills may be initiated in either the Dáil or the Seanad, and must pass both houses. In New Zealand, the bill passes through the following stages: A draft piece of legislation is called a bill ; when this is passed by Parliament it becomes an act and part of statute law. There are two types of bill and act, public and private . Public acts apply to

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1210-645: The Magistrate's Court Act 1980 (c. 43). Until the 1980s, acts of the Australian state of Victoria were numbered in a continuous sequence from 1857; thus the Age of Majority Act 1977 was No. 9075 of 1977. Mark Sainsbury (broadcaster) Gregory Mark Sainsbury (born 1956) is a New Zealand journalist and broadcaster. He was the political editor for ONE News from 2000 to 2005 and presented TVNZ's daily current affairs programme Close Up from 2007 to 2012. Sainsbury

1265-557: The Mental Health Foundation, and Family First. Due to the large volume, the Committee confirmed that it would be hearing 150 oral submissions out of the 2,890 who had opted to speak. Family First national director Bob McCoskrie criticised the select committee for excluding certain voices and rushing the process. In response, Dyson reiterated the committee's commitment to hearing a range of perspectives while remarking that "hearing

1320-474: The New Zealand Parliament debated the Abortion Legislation Actheld for the first time. Several MPs commented that it is wrong that women had to lie to their doctors about their mental health in order to get an abortion under the existing law. The bill passed by 94 votes against 23. It was then referred to the select committee stage. Three National Party MPs were absent from the vote: Alfred Ngaro

1375-471: The Safe Areas Amendment Act passed into law by a margin of 108 to 12 votes. It received royal assent on 18 March. The Bill creates safe spaces of no more than 150 metres around abortion providers. It also bans obstructing, filming in an intimidating manner, dissuading or protesting against those trying to access abortion services in those zones. Act of Parliament A draft act of parliament

1430-465: The Select Committee's recommendations but argued that safe zones infringed on freedom of expression. The New Zealand Medical Association welcomed the changes while Catholic bishops have claimed that the legislation infringes upon the legal rights of unborn children and threatens unborn babies with a fetal disability. Select Committee member Agnes Loheni, who was opposed to the legislation, proposed

1485-631: The Senate. For example, Bill C-250 was a private member's bill introduced in the House. Bills C-1 and S-1 are pro forma bills, and are introduced at the beginning of each session in order to assert the right of each Chamber to manage its own affairs. They are introduced and read a first time, and then are dropped from the Order Paper . In the Parliament of India , every bill passes through following stages before it becomes an Act of Parliament of India : In

1540-748: The Whole House stage began on 10 March 2020. On the first day of debate on Part 1, parliamentarians narrowly rejected, by 56–59, the first part of David Seymour's amendment to scrap "safe zones" from the Act. However, the second part of Seymour's amendment, which effectively scrapped the proposed "safe zones", was passed during a voting mix-up (but re-addressed in a later law, see § Safe access zone legislation ). Parliament also adopted an amendment by Ruth Dyson dealing with conscientious objectors . In addition, Parliament considered but rejected several amendments including: On 18 March, parliamentarians voted against holding

1595-412: The amendments which are agreed to in committee will have been tabled by the Government to correct deficiencies in the bill or to enact changes to policy made since the bill was introduced (or, in some cases, to import material which was not ready when the bill was presented). The debate on each stage is actually debate on a specific motion. For the first reading, there is no debate. For the second reading,

1650-449: The bill would allow minors to seek abortions without the knowledge of their parents and guardians. National MP Chris Penk disputed assertions that the previous abortion legislation criminalised women and claimed that the new bill would deny unborn children the right of protection under the law. The Act was given the Royal assent on 23 March, and came into force on 24 March. On 10 March 2021,

1705-413: The bill's passage as long overdue for women's rights but expressed disappointment at the elimination of the safe zones around abortion clinics. During the final reading, Labour List MP Kieran McAnulty spoke about his Catholic faith and being adopted as a child but supported women's reproductive rights. ACT Leader David Seymour expressed support for women's reproductive rights and eliminating abortion from

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1760-423: The calendar year, with the first act passed being chapter 1, and so on. In the United Kingdom, legislation has referenced by year and chapter number since 1963 ( Acts of Parliament Numbering and Citation Act 1962 ). Each act is numbered consecutively based on the date it received royal assent, for example the 43rd act passed in 1980 would be 1980 chapter 43. The full reference includes the (short) title and would be

1815-408: The definition of health services to include abortion services under the Health and Disability Commissioner Act 1994 . Elective abortion care had been available for several decades in New Zealand before this Act was passed, but women had to maintain a fiction that they were suffering from mental illness in order to get an abortion. The Act received cross-party support, with members of Parliament from

1870-406: The earliest opportunity and to provide them with information on how to access the closest abortion services. The Act also contains provisions for protecting the rights of conscientious objecting medical professionals from discrimination and termination. The Abortion Legislation Act also amends section 182 of the Crimes Act (killing an unborn child) to exempt abortion services within the provisions of

1925-466: The fact that 91.6% of the 25,000 submissions had opposed the bill. Labour MP Greg O'Connor expressed concerns that the Bill's Section 11 did not do enough to protect disabled infants while talking about his experiences as the father of a disabled child. National MP Simon O'Connor claimed that the bill did not afford rights and dignity to unborn children. Fellow National MP Andrew Bayly expressed concerns that

1980-468: The following stages: There are special procedures for emergency bills, member's bills (similar to private member's bills in the UK Parliament), committee bills, and private bills. In Singapore, the bill passes through these certain stages before becoming into an Act of Parliament. Acts passed by the Parliament of England did not originally have titles, and could only be formally cited by reference to

2035-471: The governing Labour Party , the Green Party , and New Zealand First largely voting in favour of the bill, while members from the opposition National Party were allowed a conscience vote , leading to a substantial majority of 68–51 in its favour at the third reading . The Abortion Legislation Act decriminalises abortion, aligns the regulation of abortion services with other health services, and modernises

2090-488: The legal framework of abortion provided by the Crimes Act 1961 and the Contraception, Sterilisation, and Abortion Act 1977 (CSA Act 1977). The Abortion Legislation Act repeals Sections 10 to 46 of the CSA Act 1977 including the Abortion Supervisory Committee (Section 10), the requirement that abortions need to be certified by two certifying consultants (Section 29), and the ban on women unlawfully procuring

2145-453: The mental health ground. Politician David Seymour called the law a "charade" and commented "nobody believes that 97 per cent of women who have abortions are mentally ill"; while journalist Mark Sainsbury commented "the patients, the doctors, the politicians, just to play their part and, nod nod wink wink, it gets done". On 5 August 2019, the Minister of Justice Andrew Little announced that

2200-498: The motion is "That this bill be now read a second time and be referred to [name of committee]" and for third reading "That this bill be now read a third time and pass." In the Committee stage, each clause is called and motions for amendments to these clauses, or that the clause stand part of the bill are made. In the Report stage, the debate is on the motions for specific amendments. Once a bill has passed both Houses in an identical form, it

2255-426: The parliamentary session in which they were passed, with each individual act being identified by year and chapter number. Descriptive titles began to be added to the enrolled acts by the official clerks, as a reference aid; over time, titles came to be included within the text of each bill. Since the mid-nineteenth century, it has also become common practice for acts to have a short title , as a convenient alternative to

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2310-427: The physical health of the woman, to preserve the mental health of the woman, foetal impairment , and in cases of incest. The abortion also had to be authorised by two certifying consultants. In practice, the law was interpreted liberally, and the system in effect operated as elective abortion, with one in four women in New Zealand having had an abortion in her lifetime. Almost all women had their abortion approved under

2365-401: The proposed new law is intended to deal with them. A bill may also be introduced into parliament without formal government backing; this is known as a private member's bill . In territories with a multicameral parliament, most bills may be first introduced in any chamber. However, certain types of legislation are required, either by constitutional convention or by law, to be introduced into

2420-428: The ruling Labour Party and its coalition partner New Zealand First conducted months of negotiations on the proposed Abortion Legislation Bill. New Zealand First Member of Parliament and Minister of Children Tracey Martin , a supporter of abortion reform, played an active role in the negotiations. On 6 August 2019, NZ First leader and Deputy Prime Minister Winston Peters surprised both Martin and Labour by demanding

2475-475: The same thing over and over again doesn't add value to the committee at all." Submissions were held in Auckland on 8 October and scheduled for Christchurch on 11 October and Wellington on 15 October. In 14 February 2020, the Select Committee delivered its report which called for safeguards to address sex selection, late-term abortions and to remove some barriers for women seeking abortions. Another recommendation

2530-473: The same version of the bill. Finally, the approved bill receives assent; in most territories this is merely a formality and is often a function exercised by the head of state . In some countries, such as in France, Belgium, Luxembourg , Spain and Portugal, the term for a bill differs depending on whether it is initiated by the government (when it is known as a "draft"), or by the parliament (a "proposition", i.e.,

2585-469: The sometimes lengthy main titles. The Short Titles Act 1892 , and its replacement the Short Titles Act 1896 , gave short titles to many acts which previously lacked them. The numerical citation of acts has also changed over time. The original method was based on the regnal year (or years) in which the relevant parliamentary session met. This has been replaced in most territories by simple reference to

2640-550: The then-weekly current affairs programme, Close Up . He was posted to Dunedin in 1983 and returned to Wellington in 1984. In 1987 he spent a year working with Barry Soper at Independent Radio News, based in the Parliamentary press gallery. He returned to TVNZ in 1988 and joined the Holmes show (New Zealand's first daily current affairs programme) in 1989. A feature report Sainsbury fronted for Holmes about Sir Edmund Hillary , which

2695-466: The weekday morning host on Radio Live , replacing Sean Plunket . He continued at the station until January 2019, when it ceased operating. Sainsbury is married to Ramona Rasch, a lawyer. They have twin adult children. The Sunday Star-Times has described his moustache as "arguably the most famous in the country". In 2024, Sainsbury courted speculation he might contest the Wellington mayoralty in

2750-598: The whole of the UK or a number of its constituent countries – England, Scotland, Wales and Northern Ireland. Private acts are local and personal in their effect, giving special powers to bodies such as local authorities or making exceptions to the law in particular geographic areas. In the United Kingdom Parliament, each bill passes through the following stages: In the Scottish Parliament, bills pass through

2805-467: Was also a presenter with Radio Live from 2016 to 2019. Sainsbury grew up in Upper Hutt , one of six sons. He began studying towards a law degree but did not finish it. After travelling overseas and working as a bus driver, he began a journalism course and before completion was hired by TVNZ as a researcher. Sainsbury began a 30-year association with TVNZ in 1981 when he was hired as a researcher for

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2860-503: Was designated Chairperson of the Abortion Legislation Committee. Other Committee members have included Green MP Jan Logie , Labour MPs Priyanca Radhakrishnan and Anahila Kanongata'a-Suisuiki , and National MPs Nikki Kaye and Agnes Loheni . By 9 October 2019, the Abortion Legislation Committee had received 25,000 written submissions from a range of legal and medical experts, religious groups, national organisations and ordinary people sharing personal experiences including Dr Alison Knowles,

2915-534: Was filmed in Nepal , was the basis of a long-standing friendship between the two men and Sainsbury was a family spokesperson when Hillary died in 2008. Sainsbury worked in London as TVNZ's Europe correspondent from 1993 to 1997. He returned to work on the Holmes programme as a Wellington-based reporter until 2000, when he was appointed political editor. He held that post until January 2006, when he left to present About Now ,

2970-477: Was overseas but had sent a proxy vote against the bill that was not cast; Hamish Walker had voted for the Bill but his vote was discounted under Parliament's rules because he had left the Debating Chamber before the votes were counted; and Jian Yang who had missed the vote, having intended to vote in favour. Submissions for the Abortion Legislation Act were held until 19 September 2019. Labour MP Ruth Dyson

3025-489: Was requiring a health professional approving abortion after 20 weeks to consult at least one other health professional before authorising an abortion. The definition for consultation was also widened to include Registered Nurses as well and qualified medical practitioners. In addition, Loheni published a minority report criticising the bill for what she regarded as a lack of safeguards on foetal abnormalities and late-term abortions. ACT New Zealand leader David Seymour supported

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