Foetal personhood Bill - Crimes Amendment (Zoes Law) Bill (No 2) 2013 Here are some points to include

when you write to MPs - it will be much more effective if you use the ideas but write the letter in your own words and give personal examples Firstly make your voice count - tell MPs where you live and a little bit about yourself. It will be more effective if politicians know they are hearing from a range of people Acknowledge the grief and loss that follows the loss of a foetus - while this Bill may be well intentioned and in response to a tragic loss it unfortunately opens the door for anti-abortion campaigners to chip away at womens reproductive rights in NSW A foetus is not a baby or an unborn child or a person - A foetus is part of the pregnant woman until it is born alive and biologically separate from the pregnant woman The current law has been reviewed and approved - If a pregnant woman is the victim of a crime in NSW and this causes the destruction of her foetus the law recognises this loss as grievous bodily harm to the woman. In 2010 the Campbell review found that this law is sufficient and did not need to be changed Read more here (link to Campbell review) The current law already carries a maximum prison sentence of 25 years existing law already allows the courts to take facts like the destruction of a foetus into account and where appropriate order prison sentences up to 25 years Legal and medical experts say the Bill is unnecessary - The NSW Bar Association says the Bill is unnecessary and creates a potential conflict of rights if a foetus is defined as a person. The AMA and RANZCOG have publicly stated that the Bill will make it difficult for doctors to do their job and may lead to criminal charges Read more here (Link to letters and media so people can include other quotes or comments) Foetal personhood could be extended to other contexts - the Bill says a foetus is only a living person for some offences, but there is no way to prevent this limited definition from being used to argue that a foetus should be treated as a person in other contexts: For example, restrictions on the behaviour of pregnant women bans on smoking or drinking alcohol or heavy exercise or taking medications that might have side effects for the foetus; increased surveillance of vulnerable and disadvantaged women; forced admissions for detoxification or treatment; forced surgical interventions like caesarean surgery; criminal charges and time in prison or institutions For example, restrictions on access to abortion care if a foetus is defined as a person how can pregnant women consent to terminate another person or

how can medical practitioners carry out an abortion on a living person without risk of prosecution For example, changing the way pregnancy is perceived and experienced pregnant women will feel judged and experience shame, stigma or guilt if they do anything that might be seen as unhealthy or risky to the living person inside them. This may also put pregnant women at increased risk of control and abuse from a violent partner or family member