Abortion Laws in Hong Kong

HONG KONG. Offences against the Person Ordinance.

Section 46. Administering drug or using instrument to procure abortion.

Any woman, being with child, who, with intent to procure her own miscarriage, unlawfully administers to herself any poison or other noxious thing, or unlawfully uses any instrument or other means whatsoever with the like intent, and any person who, with intent to procure the miscarriage of any woman, whether she is or is not with child, unlawfully administers or causes to be taken by her any poison or other noxious thing, or unlawfully uses any instrument or other means whatsoever with the like intent, shall be guilty of an offence triable upon indictment, and shall be liable to- (Amended 50 of 1991 s. 4)

(a) imprisonment for 7 years and to pay such fine as the court may award in the case of a woman, being with child, who with intent to procure her own miscarriage, has unlawfully administered to herself any poison or other noxious thing, or has unlawfully used any instrument or other means whatsoever with the like intent; and

(b) imprisonment for life and to pay such fine as the court may award in the case of any person who with intent to procure the miscarriage of any woman, whether she was or was not with child, has unlawfully administered or caused to be taken by her any poison or other noxious thing, or has unlawfully used any instrument or other means whatsoever with the like intent.

Section 47. Procuring drug, etc., with intent to cause abortion.

Any person who unlawfully supplies or procures any poison or other noxious thing or any instrument or thing whatsoever, knowing that the same is intended to be unlawfully used or employed with intent to procure the miscarriage of any woman, whether she is or is not with child, shall be guilty of an offence triable upon indictment, and shall be liable to imprisonment for 3 years.

Section 47A. Medical termination of pregnancy.

(1) Subject to this section, a person shall not be guilty of an offence under section 46 or 47 when a pregnancy is terminated by a registered medical practitioner if 2 registered medical practitioners are of the opinion, formed in good faith that-

(a) the continuance of the pregnancy would involve risk to the life of the pregnant woman or of injury to the physical or mental health of the pregnant woman, greater than if the pregnancy were terminated; or

(b) there is a substantial risk that if the child were born, it would suffer from such physical or mental abnormality as to be seriously handicapped. (Replaced 13 of 1981 s. 4)

(2) In determining whether the continuance of a pregnancy would involve such risk of injury to health as is mentioned in subsection (1), account may be taken of the pregnant woman’s actual or reasonably foreseeable environment.

(2A) Without prejudice to the generality of subsection (2)-

(a) in the case of a woman who is with child before attaining the age of 16; or

(b) in the case of a woman who has been the victim of sexual intercourse which constitutes an offence under section 47, 118, 119, 120 or 121 of the Crimes
Ordinance (Cap 200) and who has made a report to any police officer within a period not exceeding 3 months after the date upon which she alleges any such offence was committed,

a registered medical practitioner who is in doubt as to whether, in fact, the continuance of her pregnancy would or would not, involve risk of injury to her physical or mental health greater than if her pregnancy were terminated may, in forming an opinion for the purpose of subsection (1)(a), presume that the continuance of her pregnancy would involve risk of injury to her physical and mental health greater than if the pregnancy were terminated. (Added 13 of 1981 s. 4)

(2B) Subject to this section, a registered medical practitioner who terminates the pregnancy of a woman who he believes has been the victim of sexual intercourse which constitutes an offence under section 47, 118, 119, 120 or 121 of the Crimes Ordinance (Cap 200), shall not be liable to prosecution under sections 46 and 47; and it shall be presumed until the contrary is proved that he believed the woman to have been the victim of such sexual intercourse if the woman made a report to a police officer within a period not exceeding 3 months after the date upon which she alleges any such offence was committed. (Added 13 of 1981 s. 4)

(2C) For the purposes of sections 46 and 47, nothing in subsection (1), (2A) or (2B) shall be taken to authorize the termination of a pregnancy which is of more than
24 weeks duration, unless such termination is in the opinion of 2 registered medical practitioners formed in good faith, necessary to save the life of the pregnant woman. (Added 13 of 1981 s. 4)
(3) Except as provided by subsection (4), any treatment for the termination of pregnancy must be carried out in a hospital or clinic maintained by the Government or declared by the Director of Health by notice published in the Gazette to be an approved hospital or clinic for the purposes of this section. (Amended L.N. 76 of 1989; 13 of 1999 s. 3)

(4) Subsection (3) shall not apply to the termination of a pregnancy by a registered medical practitioner if 2 registered medical practitioners are of the opinion, formed in good faith, that the termination is immediately necessary to save the life or to prevent grave permanent injury to the physical or mental health of the pregnant woman.

(5) The Chief
Executive in
Council may make regulations- (Amended 13 of 1999 s. 3)

(a) requiring any such opinion as is referred to in subsection (1) to be certified by the registered medical practitioners concerned, in such form and within such time as may be prescribed and requiring the preservation and disposal of certificates made for the purposes of the regulations;

(b) requiring a registered medical practitioner who terminates a pregnancy to give notice of the termination, and such other information relating to the termination as may be prescribed, to the Director of Health; (Amended
L.N. 76 of 1989)

(c) prohibiting the disclosure,. except to such persons or for such purposes as may be prescribed, of notices given or information furnished pursuant to the regulations. [cf. 1967 c. 87 s. 2 U.K.]

(6) Subject to subsection (7), no person shall be under any duty, whether by contract or by any statutory or other legal requirement, to participate in any treatment authorized by this section to which he has a conscientious objection, but in any legal proceedings the burden of proof of conscientious objection rests on the person claiming to rely on it.
[cf. 1967 c. 87 s. 4 U.K.]

(7) Nothing in subsection (6) shall affect any duty to participate in treatment which is necessary to save the life, or to prevent grave permanent injury to the physical or mental health, of a pregnant woman.

(7A) Nothing in this section shall affect the provisions of section 47B or 47C. (Added 13 of
1981 s. 4)

(8) For the purposes of section
46 and 47, anything done with intent to procure the miscarriage of a woman is unlawfully done unless authorized by virtue of the provisions of this section.

Termination of Pregnancy Regulations.

Section 1. Citation.

These regulations may be cited as the Termination of Pregnancy Regulations.

2. Interpretation.

In these regulations “Director” (署長) means the Director of Health.

3. Certificate of opinion.

(1) An opinion referred to in section 47A of the Ordinance shall be certified in Form 1, Form 2 or Form 2A in the Schedule, as may be appropriate. (L.N. 50 of 1982)

(2) A certificate of an opinion referred to in section 47A(1) of the
Ordinance shall be given before the commencement of the treatment for the termination of the pregnancy to which it relates.

(3) A certificate of an opinion referred to in section 47A(2C) or
47A(4) of the Ordinance shall be given before the commencement of the treatment for the termination of the pregnancy to which it relates or, if that is not reasonably practicable, not later than 24 hours after such termination.
(L.N. 50 of 1982)
(4) Any certificate referred to in paragraphs (2) and (3) shall be preserved by the medical practitioner who terminated the pregnancy to which it relates for a period of 5 years beginning with the date of such termination and may then be destroyed.

4. Notice of termination of pregnancy.

A medical practitioner who terminates a pregnancy shall, not later than 3 days after the termination, complete Form 3 in the Schedule and send it in a sealed envelope to the Director.

5. Restriction on disclosure of information.

Any information furnished to the Director in pursuance of these regulations shall not be disclosed except-

(a) for the purposes of carrying out his duties, to an officer of the
Department of Health authorized by the Director; (L.N. 76 of 1989)

(b) for the purposes of carrying out his duties in relation to offences against the Ordinance, to the Secretary for Justice or a member of his staff authorized by him; (L.N. 362 of 1997)

(c) for the purposes of investigating whether an offence has been committed against the Ordinance, to the Commissioner of Police or a police officer authorized by him;

(d) for the purposes of criminal proceedings which have begun;

(e) for the purposes of bona fide scientific research;

(f) to the medical practitioner who terminated the pregnancy; and

(g) to a medical practitioner, with the consent in writing of the woman whose pregnancy was terminated.

6. Penalty.

Any person who contravenes any provision of regulation 3, 4 or 5 shall be guilty of an offence and shall be liable on conviction to a fine of $2000.