'Zoe's Law': So when does life begin?

A Post by Edwina Hine

For several months now the NSW Parliament has been discussing an issue broadly entitled "Zoe's Law". In essence the discussion has stemmed from a series of car accidents and assaults that resulted in mothers losing their unborn children. It would appear that the current state laws do not adequately address the protection of unborn children in cases of such trauma and crime, and that only the injury to the expectant mothers can be dealt with through the courts of Law.

When "Zoe's Law" was first proposed, most of the community saw the advantages of introducing such legislation. For most, it seemed only natural that when crimes result in a mother losing their unborn child, those that are found to be at fault are held to account. However, as the time draws near for the law to be debated in Parliament, it seems support for the bill is fading. The SMH reported this week that the NSW Law Society has joined the push to oppose the bill. They have written to all members of parliament stating
 

Changing the law so an unborn child is a ''living person'' under the Crimes Act would have broader consequences

The NSW Law Society are not the first to raise these concerns, not surprisingly the bill has been opposed for some time by the Pro-choice lobby who fear that 'Zoe's law' would also have a bearing on current laws regarding the termination of pregnancies. The discussion surrounding this issue is a sensitive one,  I was taken aback however when the NSW Law Society criticised "Zoe's Law",  as the Bill moves to define a 20 week old fetus as a living person. The Law Society goes as far as to say this definition is 'Arbitrary'.

Such a debate - is certainly a thought provoking one, I have found Megan Best's  article in Case # 17 'Living And Dying Ethically', entitled  "Embryo liberation" helpful as I have thought through some of the issues during this debate. Whilst the article specifically discusses the use of human embryos for research purposes, Megan's analysis covers the broader issue of life and whether it begins at conception or at a later time. Dr Best  covers the biblical aspects of the issue,  although her article actually begins with a clear analysis of the science behind conception. Best concludes that fertilization,

"… is a critical landmark because, under ordinary circumstances, a new, genetically distinct human organism is formed when the chromosomes of the male and female pronuclei blend in the oocyte (egg). The embryo, from the time it is created, is a unified, unique, dynamic, self directed whole, not just a collection of cells."

Dr Best reminds us that Psalm 139 indicates that we are known to God from the moment we are in the womb, and perhaps more importantly, we are made in God's own image

Gen 1:26 Then God said, “Let us make mankind in our image, in our likeness...

I  imagine, many of you like me, would shy away from engaging in the current debate surrounding 'Zoe's Law'. The issue is emotive, and will likely bring us into conflict with some of our friends and family. But I commend Dr Megan Bests article to Case readers, Christians cannot properly contribute to debate the proposed law changes unless they are well informed and understand the topic properly.

The article I reference in this post is available as a free download from the CASE Website. CASE Associates receive Case magazine 4 times per year as part of their benefits. For blog followers who are yet to become CASE Associates you can sign up HERE or order a single copy HERE.

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Juno – an unexpected pro-life message

I went to see the much talked about low budget movie “Juno” this week and came away touched by the story and encouraged that Hollywood has produced a movie that at least implicitly is pro-life. Sixteen-year-old Juno MacGuff (played by Ellen Page) is a geeky, funny and unusual teenager who has one-off sex with an equally geeky boy, Paulie Bleeker (played by Michael Cera), and the outcome is an unwanted pregnancy.


Her first reaction and the expectation of most people around her is that a termination is the only answer. She looks for an appropriate abortion clinic and sets out alone to terminate her pregnancy at 12 weeks. At the door she finds a Christian classmate acting as a lone picket at the clinic. Su-Chin (played by Valerie Tian) is standing with a placard proclaiming “All babies want to get borned” (sic). A lone Christian chanting to anyone who would listen that abortion is wrong. Juno speaks to her and tries to work her way past hoping her classmate might not realise why she’s there. As she slips by her classmate blurts out somewhat incoherently that her child would have a heartbeat and fingernails. “It has fingernails?” Juno replies, hesitates, and then walks in.

The abortion clinic is almost a caricature with a zany teenager at reception offering her forms to fill out and some free condoms. After an awkward exchange Juno leaves the clinic and returns home having decided that she couldn’t go through with the abortion.

The rest of the movie revolves around Juno working through the news that she is to have a baby with her friends, family and school-mates, and her efforts to choose suitable parents to adopt her child.

Many Christians will find things in this movie that that they don’t like. Like the language so typical of teenage life. Juno won’t be seen as the ideal role model for most Christian parents, but her recognition that she needs to live with the consequences of her actions, that she is unsuitable as a parent, and that her child should be placed in the hands of a couple able to take good care of him or her, is all positive. The wonderful character of Juno created by Ellen Page is the real strength of this movie, but it is also a wonderful screenplay that is well acted by all and well directed.

This is the fourth in a series of four hollywood movies in the last year that have had an implicitly pro-life message - “Waitress”, “Knocked up”, “Bella” and now “Juno”. In the three previous movies a married woman chooses to keep the child of an unwanted pregnancy with an abusive husband, a 20 year old decides to reject her mother’s advice to “take care of it”, and a single woman who is finding life tough decides against termination when a friend offers to help her. While none of these movies have been anti abortion, they have all had women who have decided against abortion and value the life of the unborn child above their own circumstances.

In the case of Juno, we see a young woman facing up to her responsibilities after having been confronted by the simple truth that her unborn child had fingernails and a heart beat at 12 weeks. The Pro-life movement has always argued that when woman are confronted with the facts concerning the unborn child as well as well as the details of what happens with an abortion, that there is a chance that they will be challenged to reconsider. It is refreshing to have a movie that subtly celebrates life, rather than the more common practice of promoting the right of women to choose what is done with their bodies, with no consideration of the unborn child. If you’re not sure whether this is for you have a look at the movie trailer first, but I’d recommend it as a movie that is memorable at multiple levels.