Health (Termination of Pregnancy Services) (Safe Access Zones) Act 2024

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Interpretation

1. (1) In this Act—

“access” means, in relation to a relevant healthcare premises—

(a) entry to the relevant healthcare premises, or

(b) exit from the relevant healthcare premises,

or both;

“general practitioner” means a medical practitioner who provides a general practitioner medical service;

“medical practitioner” means a medical practitioner who is for the time being registered in the register;

“Minister” means the Minister for Health;

“obstetrician” means an obstetrician and gynaecologist;

“obstetrician and gynaecologist” means a medical practitioner who is registered in the Specialist Division of the register under the medical specialty of Obstetrics and Gynaecology;

“place” other than in the references, in section 3 , to “place of religious worship” means—

(a) any public place,

(b) any doorway, entrance, or opening, including a window, abutting or otherwise open to a public place,

(c) any garden or land abutting a public place, or

(d) any land or car park adjoining and open to a public place;

“public place” means any place to which the public has access, whether as of right or by permission and whether subject to or free of charge;

“register” means the register of medical practitioners established under section 43 of the Medical Practitioners Act 2007 ;

“relevant healthcare premises” means—

(a) subject to paragraph (b), the land and buildings that form part of the premises at which a relevant healthcare provider provides healthcare services, or

(b) where the premises referred to in paragraph (a) is a shared premises—

(i) such part of that premises that is used for the purposes of, or in connection with, providing such healthcare services, and

(ii) any other part of that premises (including land or buildings) that is used for the purposes of accessing, the part of the premises referred to in subparagraph (i);

“relevant healthcare provider” means—

(a) a general practitioner,

(b) an obstetrician, or

(c) a hospital that provides acute in-patient services (within the meaning of section 51 of the Health Act 1970 );

“safe access zone” means, in relation to a healthcare premises—

(a) the relevant healthcare premises, and

(b) any place within 100 metres of an entrance to the relevant healthcare premises or, in a case where part only of the place is within 100 metres of an entrance to that relevant healthcare premises, that part of that place;

“shared premises”, in relation to a relevant healthcare premises, means a premises that is not used solely for the provision by a healthcare provider of healthcare services;

“termination of pregnancy” has the same meaning as it has in section 2 of the Health (Regulation of Termination of Pregnancy) Act 2018 ;

“termination of pregnancy services” means any healthcare service relating to the termination of pregnancy, including follow-up care.

(2) For the purposes of this Act, a reference to an entrance to a relevant healthcare premises is a reference to any entrance to the relevant healthcare premises that is used to enter or exit that relevant healthcare premises from a public road or street, whether or not it is a public or private entrance.