Requirements of the medical or prescribing practitioner for gestations not more than 23 weeks
The historical legislated provisions requiring a pregnant patient to undergo mandated counselling in order for a health practitioner to obtain the patient’s informed consent for the abortion have been removed. In practical terms, this negates the need for a pregnant patient to see two medical practitioners prior to accessing an abortion up to and including 23 weeks (23+0).
Under the new legislation, a minimum of one registered health practitioner (medical or prescribing) is permitted to provide an abortion service for a patient with a pregnancy gestation not more than 23 weeks i.e. up to and including 23 weeks (23+0).
Informed consent must be obtained from the pregnant patient in line with existing standards of care and professional obligations.
Free, non-directive pregnancy options support and counselling (external site) continue to be available.
For information on informed consent go to WA Health Consent to Treatment Policy
For information on pregnancy choices go to: King Edward Memorial Hospital - Pregnancy choices (including abortion) (external site)
Requirements of the medical practitioner for gestations more than 23 weeks
Only a medical practitioner (the primary practitioner) is authorised to perform an abortion on a patient who is more than 23 weeks pregnant. The primary practitioner is not necessarily the first medical practitioner the patient visits; they may be the medical practitioner to whom the patient is referred, to perform the abortion. The primary practitioner must consider whether performing the abortion is appropriate in all circumstances.
In making a determination, the primary practitioner must take into account:
- all relevant medical circumstances
- current and future physical, psychological and social circumstances
- professional standards and guidelines commonly accepted by members of the medical profession in relation to the performance of the abortion.
The primary practitioner must also consult with at least one other medical practitioner who, having also taken into account the above considerations, reasonably believes that performing the abortion is appropriate in all the circumstances. The primary practitioner must obtain informed consent from the pregnant patient in line with existing standards of care and professional obligations
What does more than 23 weeks mean?
Gestation is measured in weeks and days that have passed since the first day of the patient’s last menstrual period (LMP). If the LMP is not known, an early ultrasound enables calculation of the gestation. More than 23 weeks gestation means that the gestation of the pregnancy is at least 162 days or 23 weeks and 1 day or older.
For abortion at greater than 23 weeks, can the primary practitioner refuse to participate?
Yes. If the primary practitioner considers all circumstances above and makes the determination that an abortion is not appropriate, then they do not have to participate in the abortion care. They are not obliged to refer to another practitioner, although, they may refer or provide other relevant information.
If the primary practitioner objects to participation in an abortion prior to considering whether performing an abortion on a patient is appropriate in all circumstances, this then may be considered ‘conscientious objection’ and the practitioner must follow the pathway for conscientious objection (PDF 500KB).