A push to change "cruel" abortion laws is "important and overdue", the NSW Health Minister says, as the state parliament debates the controversial legislation. Health Minister Braz Hazzard has urged his parliamentary colleagues to support the bill, which he claimed would "right a wrong", as protests raged outside the building from demonstrators on both sides of the debate. MPs began debating a private member’s bill to change the state’s archaic laws around abortion in the lower house on Tuesday. Introduced by independent Sydney MP Alex Greenwich, the bill proposes allowing for terminations on request by a registered doctor for up to 22 weeks gestation, after which the patient would need the consent of two doctors. Hazzard said the legislation represents "important and overdue reform" of a law enacted more than 100 years ago when all legislators were men. Brad Hazzard kicks off debate in the lower house. Photo: AAP […]