On 24 March 2020, the Abortion Legislation Act 2020 (the Act) came into force in New Zealand. The Act made changes to the provision of abortion services in New Zealand and decriminalised abortion by removing certain offences in the Crimes Act 1961.
The Act disestablished the Abortion Supervisory Committee (ASC) and transferred oversight and monitoring of abortion services to the Ministry of Health.
Previously, doctors applied to the ASC to become a certifying consultant. The Act has removed this requirement and anyone seeking an abortion can access services from a qualified health practitioner. If you are interested in providing abortion services, please visit the Ministry of Health’s establishing abortion services page(external link) to find out more.
If you are a health practitioner and have any queries about the disestablishment of the ASC, please visit the Ministry of Health’s abortion legislation page(external link) in the first instance, or email abortionservices@health.govt.nz for further information.
For more information about abortion services in New Zealand or to speak to someone about your options if you are pregnant, visit DECIDE(external link) or call 0800 DECIDE (0800 332 433).
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