Zoe's Law

Over a year ago a drug affected man got behind the wheel of a car and joined the traffic flow on the streets of Wollongong..  This driver lost control of his car at speed and it crossed to the wrong side of the road and crashed into another car containing a thirty-two week pregnant women.   This woman was rushed to Liverpool hospital and emergency surgery was performed - but her baby girl did not survive.  The damage from the crash also made it certain that she will be childless for the rest of her life.

There was huge public anger when it was revealed that under the existing law this drug affected driver could not be charged with the death of this child.  The little girl would not be recognised as a human being until she took her first breath of life. It was a legal technicality that too often lets a criminal escape a charge of either murder or manslaughter - and walk away from criminal actions with a mere slap on the wrist.

This groundswell of public reaction forced the politicians to act.  Work was well underway on drafting what was to be called "Zoe's Law " - which would mandate a seven year prison term for the offence of "extinguishing the life of an infant ".  This was in response to a similar baby death much earlier and sought to recognise a foetus as a person at twenty weeks in the womb. That law finally passed the lower house of the New South Wales parliament - but it is still hung up in the upper house - and has yet to become law in this state.

It seems that the passage of legal responsibility for the life of an unborn is causing disquiet in the minds of some parliamentarians.  Some wonder if such a law may end up being manipulated to apply to abortion.  Whenever a new law passes into being it is certain to be interpreted by a lower court judge - and that decision appealed in a higher court.  There is every chance that a matter of such gravity could eventually end up being decided by the Justices of the Australian High Court.

Abortion is a matter of contention that has politicians wary.   The polls show that the majority of Australians agree that women should have control over their fertility, but this is rejected by powerful church interests - and by a significant percent of the population.  The subject arouses passionate debate and there is no doubt that the anti movement would fund a case to try and use this new law to apply to abortion - and make it illegal.

No doubt legal minds are being concentrated on solving this problem.  The actual wording of the bill would need careful thought to achieve clarity - and once again that would still be subject to interpretation by other legal minds - whose decisions could be shattering to life as we know it in this state.

The danger is that Zoe's Law may end up back in the "too hard "basket.  The upper house may decide that it should lapse rather than create legal uncertainty - and once again criminal acts that result in the death of unborn children will remain unpunished.

Most ordinary people can see no problem in framing an effective law.   Abortion is a simple medical procedure and as such should have the protection of the law.  In fact,  Zoe's Law would apply to any unqualified backyard abortionist as much as to any criminal act that results in the death of an unborn child, because such a law stipulates that it does not apply to either surgery or medication performed by a qualified and registered member of the medical fraternity.

The public clearly wants this law enacted. If the final interpretation by the courts is unsatisfactory,  then it is the job of the parliament to pass another law to clear up the problem !