Canberra: first territory to decriminalise abortion in Australia.After nearly a decade-long campaign, the Australian Capital Territory (ACT), which contains the capital Canberra Canberra (kăn`bərə), city (1991 pop. 276,162), capital of Australia, in the Australian Capital Territory, SE Australia. The Canberra urban agglomeration includes a small area in New South Wales. , became the first federal territory in Australia to remove abortion from its criminal code. The bill decriminalising the procedure for both women and doctors passed by nine votes to eight. The pivotal vote came from an MP who considered abortion as a crime to be an archaic notion. Requirements that women seeking abortion must have a 72-hour waiting period and look at pictures of fetuses were also repealed. This bill was built on abortion reforms in Western Australia Western Australia, state (1991 pop. 1,409,965), 975,920 sq mi (2,527,633 sq km), Australia, comprising the entire western part of the continent. It is bounded on the N, W, and S by the Indian Ocean. Perth is the capital. and Tasmania. (1) (1.) Canberra Times. 22 August 2002. |
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