Supreme Court of Victoria

This case challenged a decision by the Secretary of the Department of Justice to refuse Ms. Castles’ access to in vitro fertilization (“IVF”) treatment, while she was in a low security prison.  Prior to her imprisonment for social security fraud, Ms. Castles was undergoing IVF treatment.  Although she was sentenced to only 18 months of imprisonment, Ms. Castles was nearing the age at which IVF would no longer be available to her.  Ms.

In R. v. Davidson Supreme Court of Victoria (1969), Dr. Charles Kenneth Davidson, a medical doctor, was charged with four counts of unlawfully using an instrument and one count of conspiring to use an instrument or other means with intent to procure the miscarriage of a woman. The Supreme Court of Victoria held that an abortion would be lawful if the accused had an honest and reasonable belief that the procedure was both “necessary” and “proportionate.”

In this context: