South Australia’s Termination of Pregnancy Act 2021 went into effect Thursday, modernizing the state’s termination of pregnancy laws and increasing access to abortion for women in outside of Adelaide.

The Termination of Pregnancy Act 2021 passed the state’s parliament more than a year ago on 11 March 2021. The law and the associated Termination of Pregnancy Regulations 2022 commenced officially on Thursday 7 July 2022.

The Act decriminalized abortion in South Australia as the new regulations have removed termination of pregnancy procedures from the criminal legal system and are now part of health law.

The new Act also removes the need for a reason when terminating of pregnancy if the person is not more than 22 weeks and 6 days pregnant.

This wave of liberalization contrasts with recent events in the United States following the US Supreme Court overturning the landmark decisions in Roe v. Wade and Planned Parenthood v. Casey. These recent decisions have led to states across the United States banning abortion entirely.