The Wire

Western Australia’s Attorney General is drafting a controversial new foetal homicide law. According to the law, if a pregnant woman is assaulted, the loss of her foetus will count as murder. The law is designed to protect soon-to-be-mothers, but has also drawn support from advocates who argue that abortion is also murder, as an unborn foetus is a human child. Pro-choice groups are concerned that it’s a precursor to restricting a woman’s right to abortion. Dr. Leslie Cannold from Reproductive Choice Australia says that if Western Australia wants to defend pregnant women, it should focus on the mother not the foetus.