Abortion (Amendment) Bill

Bill No. 20/1980

Read the first time on 31st October 1980.

An Act to amend the Abortion Act, 1974 (No. 24 of 1974) and to make consequential amendments to the Penal Code (Chapter 103 of the Revised Edition).

Be it enacted by the President with the advice and consent of the Parliament of Singapore, as follows: —

Short title and commencement

1. This Act may be cited as the Abortion (Amendment) Act, 1980, and shall come into operation on such date as the Minister may, by notification in the Gazette, appoint.

Amendment of long title

2. The long title of the Abortion Act, 1974 (hereinafter in this Act referred to as the principal Act) is amended by deleting the words “registered medical practitioners” and substituting the words “authorised medical practitioners”.

Repeal and re-enactment of section 2

3. Section 2 of the principal Act is repealed and the following section substituted therefor: —

“Interpretation

2. In this Act, unless the context otherwise requires —

“approved institution” means any institution, hospital, maternity home, clinic or other place for the time being approved by the Minister for the purposes of this Act;

“authorised medical practitioner” means any medical practitioner who is authorised under any regulations made under this Act to carry out treatment to terminate pregnancy;

“Government hospital” means any hospital, maternity home or clinic under the control of the Minister;

“law relating to abortion” means sections 312, 313, 314 and 315 of the Penal Code (Cap. 103);

“medical practitioner” means any person registered under the Medical Registration Act (Cap. 218).”.

Amendment of section 3

4. Section 3 of the principal Act is amended by deleting subsections (1), (2) and (3) and substituting the following subsections: —

“(1) Subject to the provisions of this Act, no person shall be guilty of an offence under the law relating to abortion when a pregnancy is terminated by an authorised medical practitioner acting on the request of a pregnant woman and with her written consent.

(2) Except as provided by section 11, every treatment to terminate pregnancy shall be carried out by an authorised medical practitioner in a Government hospital or in an approved institution.

(3) No treatment to terminate pregnancy shall be carried out by an authorised medical practitioner unless the pregnant woman —

(a)	is a citizen of Singapore or is the wife of a citizen of Singapore;
(b)	is the holder, or is the wife of a holder, of an employment pass or a work permit pass issued under the Immigration Act (Cap. 81); or
(c)	has been resident in Singapore for a period of at least four months immediately preceding the date on which such treatment is to be carried out,

but this subsection shall not apply to any treatment to terminate pregnancy which is immediately necessary to save the life of the pregnant woman.”.

Amendment of section 4

5. Section 4 of the principal Act is amended by deleting the words “a registered medical practitioner” in paragraph (b) of subsection (1) and substituting the words “an authorised medical practitioner”.

Repeal of section 9

6. Section 9 of the principal Act is repealed.

Amendment of section 11

7. Section 11 of the principal Act is amended —

(a)	by deleting the words “a registered medical practitioner” in the third line and substituting the words “an authorised medical practitioner”; and
(b)	by deleting the words “registered medical practitioner” in the sixth line and substituting the words “authorised medical practitioner”.

Amendment of section 12

8. Subsection (2) of section 12 of the principal Act is amended —

(a)

by deleting the words “registered medical practitioners” in paragraph (a) and substituting the words “authorised medical practitioners”;

(b)

by deleting paragraph (c) and substituting the following paragraphs: —

“(c)	providing for the general or limited authorisation of medical practitioners to carry out treatment to terminate pregnancy;
(d)	prescribing the qualifications and experience of medical practitioners for the purpose of being authorised to carry out treatment to terminate pregnancy; and”; and

(c)

by re-lettering the existing paragraph (d) as paragraph (e).

Consequential amendments to the Penal Code

9. The Penal Code (Cap. 103) is amended —

(a)

by deleting the words “Abortion Act, 1969” in the illustration to section 91 and substituting the words “Abortion Act, 1974”;

(b)

by deleting the words “Where any person, other than a registered medical practitioner permitted or authorised to terminate a pregnancy under the provisions of the Abortion Act, 1969, and on the grounds specified in subsection (2) of section 5 of that Act,” in sections 312 and 314 and substituting in each case the words “Subject to the provisions of the Abortion Act, 1974 (Act 24 of 1974), whoever”; and

(c)

by deleting subsection (1) of section 315 and substituting the following subsection: —

“(1) Subject to the provisions of the Abortion Act, 1974, whoever, with intent to destroy the life of a child capable of being born alive, by any wilful act causes a child to die before it has an existence independent of its mother or by such act causes the child to die after its birth, shall, unless such act is immediately necessary to save the life of the mother, be punished with imprisonment for a term not exceeding ten years or to a fine not exceeding five thousand dollars or to both such imprisonment and fine.”.

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