Nile bill to ignite debate over abortion
A controversial bill giving legal rights to an unborn child will be supported by the O'Farrell government under a deal with Christian Democrat MP Fred Nile in exchange for his support for crucial state budget legislation to privatise Newcastle Port.
The Reverend Nile said the government had promised to pass through the upper house ''Zoe's Law'', which creates a separate criminal offence for causing harm to or the destruction of a foetus and stemmed from the deaths of unborn children in driving accidents.
The government told Mr Nile it reserved the right to amend the bill in the lower house.
Upper house MPs were caught by surprise when the government supported an urgency motion to debate Zoe's Law on Thursday.
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The day before, the government won Mr Nile's support for its ports bill, with the privatisation of Newcastle Port worth at least $700 million.
Mr Nile's bill is already creating disquiet in the O'Farrell government. Liberal MP Marie Ficarra told Parliament that, although she personally supported the bill, ''government members are in a quandary about this bill.''
She said no one expected to be debating it, and MPs were ''deeply concerned'' by it. ''It is about valuing the life of a woman and her unborn child and the life of the foetus at all stages,'' Ms Ficarra said.
Greens MP Mehreen Faruqi said the bill was ''extremely worrying'' and a step in the wrong direction for the right of women to control their bodies.
''This bill clearly gives the foetus a personhood status and seems to be a wedge for the anti-abortion lobby,'' Ms Faruqi said. ''It creates a distinct criminal offence that relates to the foetus and is unrelated to the woman.''
Current law deals with vehicle accidents involving pregnant women by recognising the crime of aggravated injury to the woman if her foetus is harmed or dies.
The government refused to comment on any deal with Mr Nile.
Mr Nile said the government had not given him details of the amendments it might make in the lower house but said he would not accept changes to the bill's essence.
''The essence is to grant legal status to the unborn child in the womb,'' Mr Nile said.
He denied the bill was about abortion. ''Some Labor women are nervous and saying I am trying to ban abortion, but I have put in an exemption to all medical procedures.''
The bill was targeting vehicle accidents and ''all violent acts'' such as attacks on women by violent partners, he said.
Opposition Leader John Robertson said the bill was yet to be considered by the shadow cabinet or caucus.
"However, on a preliminary reading of the bill, the opposition has significant concerns,'' he said.
''In particular, the proposed legislation seemingly reduces the maximum sentence currently provided for the destruction of the foetus of a pregnant woman under the definition of grievous bodily harm in the Crimes Act.''
A quarter of the O'Farrell cabinet is comprised of women, and the issue is likely to be highly contentious among Liberal moderates.
Ms Faruqi said the Greens would be urgently canvassing the views of women's groups.
"The government's position on this bill will be announced in due course,'' a spokesman for the Attorney-General Greg Smith said.
The spokesman said debate was adjourned to allow all parties to consider the bill before determining their position.
Brodie Donegan, the mother of Zoe, for whom the bill is named, previously told Fairfax Media she did not support Mr Nile's bill and he had not spoken to her about it.
Ms Donegan was eight months pregnant when she was run down by a drug-affected driver in 2009, and Zoe was stillborn.
The Labor government in 2005 amended the Crimes Act to expand the definition of grievous bodily harm to a woman to include the destruction of a foetus, after earlier rejecting a proposal to create a new criminal offence of killing an unborn child.
http://www.smh.com.au/nsw/nile-bill-to-ignite-debate-over-abortion-20130629-2p3y...
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