Termination laws in Australia and Aotearoa New Zealand: do they align with midwives' scope of practice?

This article examines whether the current termination laws of Australiaand Aotearoa New Zealand align with the midwifery scope of practice. Itbegins with an introduction to termination of pregnancy from a health careperspective. An overview of previous and current legal frameworks in Australiaand Aotearoa New Zealand that impact upon the provision of terminationof pregnancy health services is provided. Midwives' scope of practice isexplained and the legal and administrative factors obstructing midwives'ability to work to their full scope are discussed. Midwives' needs to enablethe provision of termination care are considered. The article concludes thatthe current laws are not supportive of midwives as termination care providersand their needs to realise their full scope of practice are not being met.