Decriminalising abortions will be viewed on 'the right side of history'

Debated for eight weeks, the bill removes abortions from the state Crimes Act, allowing for an abortion up to 22 weeks' gestation and abortions after 22 weeks with the approval of two "specialist medical practitioners".

Tamworth Nationals MLC, Trevor Khan, was one of the 15 politicians to co-sponsor the bill.

"I am confident we are both on the right side of history in terms of proactive legislation and on the right side of history in terms of the expectations of the majority of our communities," Mr Khan said.

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"The polling is pretty clear that the considerable portion of people support decriminalising abortions - that doesn't mean they are comfortable with abortions.

"But what city and country people both recognise, is that this is a woman's decision to make and they shouldn't be liable for a criminal penalty."

Tamworth MP Kevin Anderson voted in favour of bill, following the results of an online survey, which showed a "very slim majority" of the community - 50.9 per cent - supported the bill.

He was pleased to see three crucial amendments made to the bill, including abortions after 22 weeks to be performed by a specialist, banning sex-selection abortions and allowing doctors who consciously object to refer patients on to NSW Health.

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"Those issues were mentioned a number of times in the feedback we got from the survey," Mr Anderson said.

"Again, I put it to the community and the majority supported the bill.

"However, there were some suggestions and these were among the more frequent ones."

Mr Anderson's Nationals colleague and electoral neighbour, Northern Tablelands MP Adam Marshall, also supported the bill, as did Shooters, Fishers and Farmers Barwon MP Roy Butler.

Despite being a state government issue, federal New England MP Barnaby Joyce was a vocal critic of the bill.

There was a last ditch attempt to block the bill, with 10 MLCs from the upper house signing a protest which was delivered by the clerk's office to the Governor on Thursday afternoon.

The signed protest did not have any impact, but was the last way for members to register their opposition.