Question On Notice No. 488 asked in the Legislative Council on 15 February 2022 by Hon Nick Goiran
Question Directed to the: Leader of the House representing the Minister for Health
Parliament: 41 Session: 1
Question
I refer to section 335 of the Health (Miscellaneous
Provisions) Act 1911, which states that a medical practitioner who performs an
abortion must notify the Chief Health Officer of the fact in the prescribed
form within 14 days of the abortion being performed, and that such notification
must not contain any particulars from which it may be possible to ascertain the
identity of the patient, and I ask:
(a) how many forms have been received covering the period
from 1 January 2020 to 31 December 2020; and;
(b) further to (a), will the Minister table the 98 forms for
the abortions performed at 20 weeks or later; and
(c) if
no to (b), will the Minister undertake to comply with section 82 of theFinancial Management Act 2006?
Answered on 15 March 2022
(a) 7,958
(b) No, I will not be tabling the abortion notification forms for individual patients. There is a need to balance the public interest in access to information against the need to protect the privacy and dignity of individuals receiving legal health services.
(c) Not applicable as the information requested in (b) does not fall within the remit of section 82 of the Financial Management Act 2006.