SW News:

The Parliament in the Australian state of New South Wales will be debating a bill that proposes strict penalties for any crime that results in a miscarriage. Popularly known as Zoe’s Law, the legislation was proposed 12 years ago after an intoxicated driver knocked down Brodie Donegan, who was 32 weeks pregnant on Christmas day. In the accident, she lost her preborn child, Zoe. The police told her that they would charge the driver, but the loss of her baby would not be included in the charges. 

Donegan wanted a separate legislation that acknowledges miscarriages resulting from injuries inflicted on pregnant women. At present, a miscarriage resulting from a criminal act is only treated as a serious physical injury to the mother in the state. There is no penalty for causing the death of the unborn child. Since 2014, there have been many attempts to bring Zoe’s Law to Parliament for debate. 

However, pro-abortion groups and feminists have alleged that the bill could be used to curb access to late-term abortions in the state. Zoe’s Law proposes including two offenses to the Crime’s Act. Each of them adds up to three years on to a sentence where a woman has been murdered or inflicted with serious wounds leading to a miscarriage. In both cases, the unborn baby should be at least 20 weeks old or weigh 400 grams.