In October the Catholic Women’s League (CWL) initiated a petition to press for law reform in Victoria to recognise the loss of, or injury to, an unborn child as a result of violence or culpable driving. The petition takes advantage of the window of opportunity resulting from the recent review of similar laws in New South Wales. It is particularly timely in Victoria due to current court cases which have exposed the justice system’s inadequacy in acknowledging a mother’s trauma in losing an unborn child.
On 10 November, The Age reported that “a County Court judge was reduced to tears yesterday as she listened to a mother detail the heartbreak of losing her unborn child in a car crash in Melbourne’s south-east”. Hannah Roberts was eight months pregnant when a four-wheel-drive collided with her car on Warrigal Road in Oakleigh. Ms Robert’s daughter, whom she named Zainab, was stillborn by caesarean section the next day.
In her victim impact statement to the court, Ms Roberts spoke about the trauma of losing her unborn child, stating: “She was 2500 grams and 48 centimetres long – the length I was when I was born. She had dark curly hair and skin softer than rose petals.” In Victorian law, however, there is no legal acknowledgement of the life of the unborn child that was lost.
At the moment, the Victorian law regarding the loss of, or injury to, the unborn child is based on the NSW law, which enables police to charge an offender only with ‘grievous bodily harm’, (‘serious injury’ in Victoria) even if a woman suffers no other long-term injury than the death of her unborn child. The offender cannot, however, be charged with manslaughter or murder, because the unborn child has not taken a breath. Although the Byron Law in 2005 allows the offender to be jailed for up to 25 years, several cases in NSW’s courts have raised concerns that the current law is still inadequate to account for the mother’s loss.
On Christmas Day 2009, Brodie Donegan went for a walk to stretch her legs and was hit by a driver who was under the influence of drugs; she lost her eight-month-old unborn child. The driver was convicted under the NSW Crimes Act for causing grievous bodily harm to Ms Donegan but there was no legal acknowledgement of the loss of her child.
Another controversial case in the NSW courts was that of R v King. In an unplanned pregnancy between Kylie Flick and Phillip King, Ms Flick decided against an abortion. When Ms Flick was 24 weeks pregnant, Mr King attacked and repeatedly kicked her in the stomach to intentionally cause the death of her unborn child. Mr King was convicted of causing grievous bodily harm to her but was not convicted for manslaughter due to the fact that the unborn child is not recognised as a person before the law.
These cases have recently led the NSW Government to review the existing legislation. However, in his review in October 2010, Michael Campbell, QC, who was responsible for the inquiry, stated “I consider that current provisions do respond appropriately and I do not recommend any change.”
Despite the lack of revision to NSW’s law, the CWL petition has quickly gained momentum in Victoria, and a mirror petition has been initiated in NSW. Over the past few weeks, CWL has taken its petition to Catholic parishes throughout country Victoria and Melbourne. The positive response has been overwhelming, and the number of people who have signed the petition in Victoria exceeds 7000.
This petition has also elicited support from other Christian denominations, especially in country areas. Although the petition was scheduled to finish by 29 October, the time has been extended to allow other denominations to respond. The CWL has also taken this petition into shopping centres and was overjoyed to discover a welcome response from the wider public.
Anna Krohn, the bioethics convener for the CWL, comments that this petition has a “positive focus” because it “raises community awareness of violence against women” and brings to the public sphere a new discussion about “the meaning of unborn life”.
This pro-life campaign has been effective in building common ground in the community. It does not oppose the abortion laws directly but, by raising public awareness about the life of the unborn child, the petition exposes the inconsistency of the current abortion legislation.
Laura Meli is studying for a Master’s of International Relations from the University of Melbourne.