Abortion bill passed in Australia's southeast state

11/10/2008 13:24:23

After a marathon sitting week, the Parliament in Australia's southeastern state of Victoria has finally passed legislation to decriminalise abortion.

The Upper House debated the bill for four consecutive days and nights.

On Friday night, a final vote was counted, with the affirmative winning 23-17.

Abortion will now be removed from the Crimes Act, and a woman can freely choose to terminate a pregnancy up to 24 weeks gestation.

The Women's Affairs Minister, Maxine Morand, says it's an historic moment.

"We now have clarity and certainty for women and health practitioners in Victoria and that is fundamentally incredibly important," she said.

She says the lengthy parliamentary debate may be the longest in history.

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