South Australia’s Parliament should pass sensible and proportionate safe access zone laws, which are needed to promote the safety and privacy of women accessing abortion healthcare.

The Healthcare (Health Access Zones) Amendment Bill 2019 will be debated in the Legislative Assembly today after passing the Upper House a fortnight ago. The proposed law would create an automatic safe access zone around the Pregnancy Advisory Centre, and require the Health Minister to create safe access zones around hospitals or clinics performing abortions if requested.

Adrianne Walters, Senior Lawyer at the Human Rights Law Centre, said that sensible and proportionate safe access zones have a critical role to play in protecting the wellbeing of patients, and particularly women, seeking reproductive healthcare.

“Women should not have to run a gauntlet of abuse, harassment and intimidation when trying to see their doctor. Safe access zone laws work to protect a woman’s right to access healthcare safely and privately,” said Walters

“Right now, women trying to act on a private medial decision are being harassed and harangued in public by anti-abortion activists. This has to be stopped,” said Walters.

Within a safe access zone, it would be an offence to intimidate, harass or threaten another person, or obstruct or record a person accessing the premises. 

However, the proposed law goes further than other jurisdictions, including by broadly prohibiting “attempts to communicate” about abortion and by creating a maximum penalty of two years imprisonment for a person found guilty of prohibited conduct.

“We commend the commitment of politicians across the floor to ending the public intimidation of women as they walk into a medical appointment, but the laws need to carefully balance the right to access healthcare with freedom of expression. It is important that the proposed law not create a precedent that threatens protest rights more broadly – some simple amendments will ensure it strikes the right balance,” said Walters.

Earlier this year, the High Court of Australia upheld safe access zone laws in Victoria and Tasmania. Even though the laws limit the freedom of political expression, the Court found they were justified because of the critical importance of ensuring women can access the healthcare they need safely.

“We urge the South Australian Parliament to take guidance from Victoria’s safe access zone laws, which have received the High Court’s constitutional tick of approval,” said Walters.

South Australia and Western Australia are the only two states in Australia to have not yet legislated for safe access zones.

Media contact:

Michelle Bennett, Communications Director, Human Rights Law Centre, 0419 100 519