Over the past few months, Zoe’s Law – a proposal that would see any foetus more than 20 weeks old regarded as a person when it comes to charging someone with grievous bodily harm – has attracted a lot of media attention.
But there’s another challenge to women’s access to abortions in Victoria, that you might not have heard of.
A former Liberal politician turned independent – Victorian MP Geoff Shaw – wants his private member’s bill to amend the amends the state’s laws debated before the Victorian state election in November.
Mr Shaw has called Victoria’s laws among “the worst in the world”.
The MP has said that he would like the law changed so that doctors who do not want to perform an abortion on a patient, have no obligation to refer their patient to another doctor who might be willing.
Shaw’s member’s bill is in response to a 2008 amendment to Victorian law, which requires doctors who have a conscientious objection to abortion to refer a patient to another doctor.
This change would have huge implications for women seeking an abortion – especially those in rural communities whose options may already be limited, or young women who could having trouble navigating the medical system.
Mr Shaw is an evangelical Christian with strongly-held beliefs, and was granted permission by the Premier Denis Napthine last year to draw up his private member’s bill.