Plans to increase prison sentences by three years for criminals who kill women and their unborn children have been released for public consultation in in the Australian state of New South Wales.
Gladys Berejiklian, Premier of New South Wales, said that “these reforms will acknowledge the heartbreaking loss experienced by many families”.
The Bill, which would raise the prison sentence for crimes committed against pregnant women which result in the death of their unborn baby, will also be accompanied by a bereavement payment scheme for families who lose a child in such circumstances.
Attorney General Mark Speakman said: “The proposed amendments to the Crimes Act 1900 recognise that the loss of a pregnancy falls into a unique, and especially serious, category of harm.”
The draft Bill follows several horrific instances of the murder of pregnant women in Australia, including the brutal beating and stabbing of Kirralee Paepaerei (pictured) in Mount Druitt in 2015, killing the mother of five, including her unborn child of seven months.
The proposed legislation would not change existing abortion legislation in New South Wales.
SPUC comment
A SPUC spokesperson said: “While a more severe punishment for criminals whose violence results in the death of unborn children is to be welcomed, the impact of this new Bill, if it is passed, is undermined by the decriminalisation of abortion in New South Wales in 2019.
“Women and the lives of their unborn children should be valued and protected whatever the circumstance.”
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