- NO. 92 OF 1996: CHOICE ON
TERMINATION OF PREGNANCY ACT, 1996.
-
- PRESIDENT'S OFFICE No.
1891.
22 November 1996 -
- NO. 92 OF 1996: CHOICE ON
TERMINATION OF PREGNANCY ACT, 1996.
-
- It is hereby notified that
the President has assented to the following Act which is hereby
published for general information:-
-
ACT
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- To determine the
circumstances in which and conditions under which the pregnancy of a
woman may be terminated; and to provide
for matters connected
therewith.
-
(Afrikaans
text signed by the President.) (Assented to 12 November 1996.)
PREAMBLE
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- Recognising the values of
human dignity, the achievement of equality, security of the person,
non-racialism and non-sexism, and
the advancement of human rights
and freedoms which underlie a democratic South Africa;
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- Recognising that the
Constitution protects the right of persons to make decisions
concerning reproduction and to security in and
control over their
bodies;
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- Recognising that both
women and men have the right to be informed of and to have access to
safe, effective, affordable and acceptable
methods of fertility
regulation of their choice, and that women have the right of access
to appropriate health care services
to ensure safe pregnancy and
childbirth;
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- Recognising that the
decision to have children is fundamental to women's physical,
psychological and social health and that universal
access to
reproductive health care services includes family planning and
contraception, termination of pregnancy, as well as
sexuality
education and counselling programmes and services;
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- Recognising that the State
has the responsibility to provide reproductive health to all, and
also to provide safe conditions under
which the right of choice can
be exercised without fear or harm;
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- Believing that termination
of pregnancy is not a form of contraception or population control;
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- This Act therefore repeals
the restrictive and inaccessible provisions of the Abortion and
Sterilization Act, 1975 (Act No. 2
of 1975), and promotes
reproductive rights and extends freedom of choice by affording every
woman the right to choose whether
to have an early, safe and legal
termination of pregnancy according to her individual beliefs.
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- BE IT ENACTED by the
Parliament of the Republic of South Africa, as follows:-
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Definitions -
1. In this Act, unless the
context otherwise indicates-
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(i) "Director-General"
means the Director-General of Health; (iii) (ii) "gestation
period" means the period
of pregnancy of a woman
-
calculated from the first
day of the menstrual period which in relation to the pregnancy is
the last; (iv)
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- (iii) "incest"
means sexual intercourse between two persons who are related
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to each other in a degree
which precludes a lawful marriage between them; (ii)
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- (iv) "medical
practitioner" means a person registered as such under the
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Medical, Dental and
Supplementary Health Service Professions Act,
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1974 (Act No. 56 of 1974);
(v)
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- (v) "Minister"
means the Minister of Health; (viii)
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(vi) "minor" means
any female person under the age of 18 years; (vii) (vii) "prescribe"
means prescribe by
regulation under section 9; (x)
-
- and
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- (viii) "rape"
also includes statutory rape as referred to in sections 14
-
15 of the Sexual Offences
Act, 1957 (Act No. 23 of 1957); (ix) (ix) "registered midwife"
means a person registered
as such under the
Nursing Act, 1978 (Act
No. 50 of 1978); (vi) -
- (x) "termination of
a pregnancy" means the separation and expulsion, by medical or
surgical means, of the contents
of the uterus of a pregnant woman;
(i)
-
(xi)
"woman" means any female person of any age. (xi)
- Circumstances in which
and conditions under which pregnancy may be terminated
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- 2. (1) A pregnancy may be
terminated-
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- (a) upon request of a
woman during the first 12 weeks of the gestation period of her
pregnancy;
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- (b) from the 13th up to
and including the 20th week of the gestation period if a medical
practitioner, after consultation
with the pregnant woman, is of
the opinion that-
-
- (i) the continued
pregnancy would pose a risk of injury to the woman's physical or
mental health; or
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- (ii) there exists a
substantial risk that the fetus would suffer from a severe
physical or mental abnormality; or
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- (iii) the pregnancy
resulted from rape or incest; or
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- (iv) the continued
pregnancy would significantly affect the social or economic
circumstances of the woman; or
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- (c) after the 20th week
of the gestation period if a medical practitioner, after
consultation with another medical practitioner
or a registered
midwife, is of the opinion that the continued pregnancy-
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- (i) would endanger the
woman's life;
- (ii) would result in a
severe malformation of the fetus; or
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- (iii) would pose a risk
of injury to the fetus.
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- (2) The termination of a
pregnancy may only be carried out by a medical practitioner, except
for a pregnancy referred to in subsection
(])(a), which may also be
carried out by a registered midwife who has completed the prescribed
training course.
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- Place where surgical
termination of pregnancy may take place
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- 3. (1) The surgical
termination of a pregnancy may take place only at a facility
designated by the Minister by notice in the Gazette
for that purpose
under subsection (2).
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- (2) The Minister may
designate any facility for the purpose contemplated in subsection
(1), subject to such conditions and requirements
as he or she may
consider necessary or expedient for achieving the objects of this
Act,
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- (3) The Minister may
withdraw any designation under this section after giving 14 days'
prior notice of such withdrawal in the
Gazette.
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- Counselling
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- 4. The State shall promote
the provision of non-mandatory and non-directive counselling, before
and after the termination of a
pregnancy.
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- Consent
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- 5. (1) Subject to the
provisions of subsections (4) and (5), the termination
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of a pregnancy may only take
place with the informed consent of the pregnant woman.
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- (2) Notwithstanding any
other law or the common law, but subject to the provisions of
subsections (4) and (5), no consent other
than that of the pregnant
woman shall be required for the termination of a pregnancy.
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- (3) In the case of a
pregnant minor, a medical practitioner or a registered midwife, as
the case may be, shall advise such minor
to consult with her
parents, guardian, family members or friends before the pregnancy is
terminated: Provided that the termination
of the pregnancy shall not
be
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denied
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because such minor chooses not
to consult them.
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- (4) Subject to the
provisions of subsection (5), in the case where a woman is-
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- (a) severely mentally
disabled to such an extent that she is completely incapable of
understanding and appreciating the nature
or consequences of a
termination of her pregnancy; or
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- (b) in a state of
continuous unconsciousness and there is no reasonable prospect that
she will regain consciousness in time
to request and to consent to
the termination of her pregnancy in terms of section 2, her
pregnancy may be terminated during
the first 12 weeks of the
gestation period, or from the 13th up to and including the 20th
week of the gestation period on the
grounds set out in section
2(1)(b)-
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- (i) upon the request of
and with the consent of her natural guardian, spouse or legal
guardian, as the case may be; or
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- (ii) if such persons
cannot be found, upon the request and with the
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consent of her curator
personae:
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- Provided that such
pregnancy may not be terminated unless two medical practitioners
or a medical practitioner and a registered
midwife who has
completed the prescribed training course consent thereto.
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- (5) Where two medical
practitioners or a medical practitioner and a registered midwife who
has completed the prescribed training
course, are of
-
the
-
opinion that-
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- (a) during the period up
to and including the 20th week of the gestation period of a
pregnant woman referred to in subsection
(4)(a) or (b)-
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- (i) the continued
pregnancy would pose a risk of injury to the woman's physical or
mental health; or
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- (ii) there exists a
substantial risk that the fetus would suffer from a severe
physical or mental abnormality; or
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- (b) after the 20th week of
the gestation period of a pregnant woman referred
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to in subsection (4)(a)
or (b), the continued pregnancy-
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- (i) would endanger the
woman's life;
-
(ii)
would result in a severe malformation of the fetus; or
- the
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- (iii) would pose a risk
of injury to the fetus, they may consent to the termination of the
pregnancy of such woman after consulting
her natural guardian,
spouse, legal guardian or curator personae, as
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- case may be: Provided
that the termination of the pregnancy shall not be denied if the
natural guardian, spouse, legal guardian
or curator personae, as
the case may be, refuses to consent thereto.
- Information concerning
termination of pregnancy
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6. A
woman who in terms of section 2(1) requests a termination of
pregnancy from a medical practitioner or a registered midwife,
as
the case may be, shall be informed of her rights under this Act by
the person concerned. -
- Notification and keeping
of records
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- 7. (1) Any medical
practitioner, or a registered midwife who has completed the
prescribed training course, who terminates a
pregnancy in terms of
section
-
2(1)(a) or (b), shall record
the prescribed information in the prescribed manner and give notice
thereof to the person referred
to in subsection (2).
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- (2) The person in charge
of a facility referred to in section 3 or a person designated for
such purpose, shall be notified as
prescribed of every termination
of a pregnancy carried out in that facility.
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- (3) The person in charge
of a facility referred to in section 3, shall, within one month of
the termination of a pregnancy at
such facility, collate the
prescribed information and forward it by registered post
confidentially to the Director-General:
Provided that the name and
address of a woman who has requested or obtained a termination of
pregnancy, shall not be included
in the prescribed information.
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- (4) The Director-General
shall keep record of the prescribed information which he or she
receives in terms of subsection (3).
- (5) The identity of a
woman who has requested or obtained a termination of pregnancy shall
remain confidential at all times unless
she herself chooses to
disclose that information.
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- Delegation
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- 8. (1) The Minister may,
on such conditions as he or she may determine, in writing delegate
to the Director-General or any other
officer in the service
-
of
-
the State, any power
confer-red upon the Minister by or under this Act, except the power
referred to in section 9.
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- (2) The Director-General
may, on such conditions as he or she may determine,
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in writing delegate to an
officer in the service of the State, any power conferred upon the
Director-General by or under this
Act or delegated to him
-
or
-
her under subsection (1).
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- (3) The Minister or
Director-General shall not be divested of any power delegated by him
or her, and may amend or set aside any
decision taken by a person in
the exercise of any such power delegated to him or her.
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- Regulations
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- 9. The Minister may make
regulations relating to any matter which he or she may consider
necessary or expedient to prescribe for
achieving the objects of
this Act.
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- Offences and penalties
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- 10. (1) Any person who-
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- (a) is not a medical
practitioner or a registered midwife who has completed the
prescribed training course and who performs
the termination of a
pregnancy referred to in section 2(1)(a);
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- (b) is not a medical
practitioner and who performs the termination of a pregnancy
referred to in section 2(1)(b) or (c); or
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- (c) prevents the lawful
termination of a pregnancy or obstructs access to a facility for
the termination of a pregnancy, shall
be guilty of an offence and
liable on conviction to a fine or to imprisonment for a period not
exceeding 10 years.
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- (2) Any person who
contravenes or fails to comply with any provision of section 7 shall
be guilty of an offence and liable on
conviction to a fine or to
imprisonment for a period not exceeding six months.
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- Application of Act
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- 11. (1) This Act shall
apply to the whole of the national territory of the
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Republic.
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- (2) This Act shall repeal-
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- (a) the Act mentioned in
columns one and two of the Schedule to the extent$
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set out in the third
column of the Schedule; and
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- (b) any law relating to
the termination of pregnancy which applied in the territory of any
entity which prior to the commencement
of the Constitution of the
Republic of South Africa, 1993 (Act No. 200 of
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1993), possessed legislative
authority with regard to the termination of
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a pregnancy.
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- Short title and
commencement
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- 12. This Act shall be
called the Choice on Termination of Pregnancy Act,
-
1996,
and shall come into operation on a date fixed by the President by
proclamation in the Gazette.
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SCHEDULE
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- No. and year of law
|Short title |Extent of repeal
-
- |
|
Act No. 2
of 1975 |Abortion and Sterilization Act, |In so far as it relates
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|1975 |to abortion
-
- |
|
|
