Dr. Ruth Fletcher:

There is a very practical reason in the sense that if one has to adopt legislation which amends an earlier piece of legislation, one ends up working with two Acts. It might be simpler to repeal it in its entirety and replace it with a new Act and this would satisfy the basic objective of simplifying the statutory structure. A second reason is that the transition from a legal regime which has taken an exceptional approach to abortion care - in that it is only available when the life of a woman is at risk - to a system which allows abortion on request, to some extent, is a major one. They are two very different regimes so the transition would be better marked by adopting an Act that did not have limitations relating to life-saving exceptionalism as the Protection of Life During Pregnancy Act has. Does that answer the question?