Abortion in New Zealand is available within the framework of the Abortion Legislation Act 2020, which entirely eliminated the criminal status of abortion and allows termination on request during the first 20 weeks of pregnancy.[1] After 20 weeks abortion is permitted only if a health practitioner deems it "clinically appropriate" and consults at least one other health practitioner.[2] However, the law does not specify what the conditions are which constitute "clinically appropriate", and there are no criminal penalties. Abortion is illegal only if a person who is not a licensed health practitioner procures or performs it.[3][4]
Before 2020, abortion in New Zealand was heavily restricted and criminalised under the Crimes Act 1961, with significant changes occurring in 1977 and 1978 to allow abortions under specific circumstances, although subsequent High Court and Court of Appeal decisions liberalised abortion access within that context, particularly Wall v Livingston in 1982.[5] In March 2022, New Zealand implemented explicit "safe access zones" by legislation around abortion clinics and/or hospitals.[6]
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