Australian state nixes protections for the unborn

New South Wales on Thursday overturned a 119-year-old law protecting the unborn in Australia’s most populous state. The state legislature voted to allow abortion up to 22 weeks into a pregnancy—longer if two physicians agree. The previous law safeguarded babies unless the pregnancy posed a serious risk to the mother’s health.

Is abortion legal everywhere in Australia? New South Wales, home to the country’s largest city, Sydney, was the only remaining state or territory with protections for the unborn. “Today is a very dark day for New South Wales,” wrote Anthony Fisher, archbishop of Sydney, on Thursday. “The new abortion law is a defeat for humanity.”

Dig deeper: From the WORLD archives, read Samantha Gobba’s report in Vitals on how Australia just barely voted down a bill to allow states to legalize euthanasia last year.