NSW Safe Access Zones Bill Passes Upper House

Friday 25 May 2018 @ 11.55 a.m. | Legal Research

On 24 May 2018, the Public Health Amendment (Safe Access to Reproductive Health Clinics) Bill 2018 (the “Bill”) passed the NSW Legislative Councilwithout amendments. The Bill is co-sponsored by Penny Sharpe of NSW Labor and Trevor Khan of the Nationals.  The Bill will now go to the Legislative Assembly for debate.

The Bill proposes to make amendments to the Public Health Act 2010 (NSW).

Outline of the Bill

The Bill’s Explanatory Note outlines that the Bill’s object is:

“…to provide for safe access zones around reproductive health clinics at which abortions are provided so as to protect the safety and well-being of, and respect the privacy and dignity of, those accessing the services provided at those premises as well as those who need to access those premises in the course of their employment.”

Public Reaction and Comment

According to ABC News, the introduction of the Bill will:

“… bring NSW in line with ACT, Victoria and Tasmania, proposes an 150-metre exclusion zone around reproductive health clinics to stop patients being harassed or intimidated by anti-abortion protestors and so-called ‘sidewalk counsellors’.”

The ABC also reports that those found to be in breach of the law could face up to 12 months in prison.

The proposed amendments also seek to make it an offence to interfere with a person accessing a clinic in a way that is "likely to cause distress or anxiety", and makes it a crime to film or photograph staff and patients within safe access zones.

A Senior Lawyer from the Human Rights Law Centre commented that seeing support across political parties for a fundamental women’s rights law was a welcome development. She said:

“The safety, wellbeing and dignity of women seeking reproductive health services should be paramount. For far too long, women in NSW have had to run a gauntlet of abuse just to see their doctor. This vote is critical to showing the public that the NSW Parliament will no longer tolerate this insidious form of violence against women. Safe access zones are a straightforward and sensible solution."

ABC also reports that those opposed to the Bill believe:

“… it would prevent people from participating in ‘non-intimidating prayer vigils’ outside clinics and restrict freedom of speech … The bill is inherently faulty in its construction and for that reason should not be passed by this house."

Brief Overview of the Amendments

Briefly, the proposed amendments to the Public Health Act 2010 (NSW) include:

  • the insertion of proposed section 98A inserts definitions used in the proposed Part … “The term safe access zone is defined to mean the premises of a reproductive health clinic at which abortions are provided and the area within 150 metres of any part of the premises of a reproductive health clinic…”;
  • proposed section 98C makes it an offence for a person who is in a safe access zone to interfere with any person accessing, leaving, or attempting to access or leave, any reproductive health clinic with proposed section 98C making it an offence to communicate with this person;
  • proposed section 98E makes it an offence for a person to intentionally capture visual data of another person, without that other person’s consent, or publish or distribute a recording of another person without that other person’s consent; and
  • proposed section 98F provides that “… the proposed Part does not apply so as to prohibit conduct occurring in or around a church or other building ordinarily used for religious worship or outside Parliament House in Macquarie Street, Sydney …”

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Sources:

Public Health Amendment (Safe Access to Reproductive Health Clinics) Bill 2018 (NSW) - Bill and supporting information available from TimeBase LawOne Service.

NSW even closer to guaranteeing woman safe access to reproductive healthcare in law - Human Rights Law Centre (HRLC), 24 May 2018

Abortion bill to ban pro-life protestors passes NSW Upper House - ABC News, Nour Heydar, 24 May 2018)

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