00:01The new state parliament is in just its second sitting week but a fresh bid to tighten abortion
00:07restrictions is already on the agenda with the introduction of a new bill in the upper
00:12house today.
00:13State political reporter Catherine Birmingham joins me now.
00:16Catherine what does this bill propose to do?
00:19Jess, current SA law permits abortion after 23 weeks in cases where two doctors agree
00:24that continuing the pregnancy would put the physical or mental health of the mother at
00:29significant risk or there is a significant risk of serious fetal abnormalities.
00:34This bill would change those rules, effectively banning abortion from 25 weeks onwards except
00:40in cases where it would save the mother's life.
00:42The bill was introduced by independent MP Sarah Game and supporters of the push held an event
00:47on the steps of parliament today but it's certain to attract fierce opposition from abortion
00:52rights campaigners who have described other attempts to tighten restrictions as an attack
00:56on women's rights and a danger to their health.
00:59Catherine, is this bill likely to pass?
01:02This is the third bill to restrict late term abortion introduced to the upper house in less
01:07than two years and both previous attempts were voted down before they could progress to the
01:11lower house.
01:12But the authors of this bill are hopeful that the result will be different because of the
01:17new make up of the parliament.
01:18They see a path for it to pass the upper house if the MPs who supported previous bills vote
01:23that way again and it gets the support of three new one nation MPs.
01:28That would send it to the lower house, the first time a bill like this has made it there.
01:33Labor holds a big majority in the lower house but MPs would get a conscience vote so it's
01:38not clear exactly how the chips would fall.
01:41In any event it would mean that MPs who haven't had to vote on the previous bills would need to
01:45put their views on the record and Jess, that means they could find themselves the target
01:50of campaigns from both sides of this debate.
01:53Catherine, thank you.
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