If bodily harm is inflicted on a pregnant woman, who, as a result, loses her child, the offender will only be charged for the assault of the woman and not for the death of the unborn baby.
This is the law as it stands in Victoria.
And it’s the very issue that Katunga locals Elodie and Andrew Aldridge are fighting to be made an offence in the state.
On October 20, 2023, Mrs Aldridge was involved in a three-vehicle accident in Shepparton East.
At the time, she was 34 weeks pregnant and the news she was getting ready to deliver to her husband that day after attending a midwifery appointment was that their son was kicking, healthy and ready to be born soon.
However, not only did the accident result in serious injury to Mrs Aldridge, but during an emergency C-section, it was discovered the couple’s son, Remi Matthew Aldridge, had passed.
But because he had not taken a breath, current laws haven’t allowed Remi’s death to be counted as a charge in court.
Yet Remi has both a birth and death certificate, and even his own TAC claim number.
Victoria Police has even counted Remi in its road toll numbers, yet there’s no record of accountability for his death.
“The detective in charge of what happened called us and let us know that Remi would not be recognised as a victim of the accident — he’s just an injury,” Mrs Aldridge said.
“Let me tell you that no parent in the world wants to hear that.
“That’s not fair that a 34-week-old baby is not recognised as such — he was fully formed — we have photos, we saw him.”
This is why they’re fighting for a change.
“We’ve decided to change the law, to try at least; it’s not really for ourselves because no matter what, even if the law passed in Victoria, Remi is never going to be recognised as a victim,” Mrs Aldridge said.
“It's too late for us, but if we can help other people — we're ready to fight.
“It also would help us with the loss and the grieving process because it would mean he wouldn’t have died for nothing.”
This situation is not a new one.
In 2016, a man under the influence of drugs smashed his car into the car of expectant mother Mandy Davies’ car in Bannockburn on the Midland Hwy.
She lost her child, and the man was not charged for it in court three years later.
In 2010, Hannah Robert was 34 weeks pregnant when her car was hit by another car that was clipped by a man driving erratically through traffic in Oakleigh.
The man was not charged in court later that year for the death of her daughter, who died on impact.
Their fight isn’t just for those mothers who lost their child in an accident; it’s also for those who lost the baby in other circumstances — such as domestic violence.
“If there’s a woman stuck in an abusive relationship and one night she’s getting physically hurt by her partner, and she loses the baby — he’s just getting done for hurting her, not for killing the baby,” Mrs Aldridge said.
Unfortunately, it is not uncommon for pregnant women to be hospitalised because of domestic violence.
According to the Australian Institute of Health and Welfare’s National Hospital Database, in 2021-22, in seven per cent of hospitalisations of women for injuries from assault from a spouse or domestic partner, the woman was pregnant.
Of this number, 48 per cent were hospitalised with injuries to their thorax, abdomen, lower back, lumbar spine or pelvis (known as their trunk area).
These areas are the most dangerous places to hit a woman during pregnancy.
When it comes to creating a law to protect these unborn babies, there is the matter of abortion and what constitutes a lawful death of an unborn baby — something the Aldridges said they were firm on protecting.
“This new law needs to protect abortion and needs to protect medical practitioners if they need to terminate a pregnancy because of bad health issues to the woman,” Mrs Aldridge said.
“We know it’s not going to be easy because of all that — it really needs to be clarified in the law, but we’re hopeful.”
In Victoria, for a pregnant woman to have an abortion, it must be before 24 weeks.
Anything after this needs to be approved by two medical practitioners who agree an abortion is appropriate under the circumstances — because the child is already viewed as a person.
In the Aldridges’ eyes, this seems contradictory.
“If this is the case, any baby past 24 weeks of gestation should be recognised as a human being by the law,” Mr Aldridge said.
NSW is currently the only state or territory in Australia that has a law stating a person can be charged for the death of a foetus when applicable to a wide range of criminal acts.
In this law, abortion is protected.
This is known as Zoe’s law and followed a 12-year battle by NSW mother Brodie Donegan, who lost her 32-week-old daughter Zoe in 2009 after she was hit and pinned down under a van by a drug-affected driver.
Now, the Aldridges hope to do the same in Victoria.
“If NSW can do it, why can’t we?” Mr Aldridge said.
“I don’t care if it’s called Zoe’s law or Remi’s law here — whatever gets passed, it just needs to be a law.”
Initially, the couple started collecting signatures on change.org to garner support to get the law changed, an effort that attracted 2111 signatures.
For a petition for a law change to be tabled in state parliament, it needs to be sponsored by a member of parliament.
State Member for Shepparton Kim O’Keeffe is the official sponsor of this petition.
As of Wednesday, January 24, there were 40 signatures on the parliamentary petition, which was launched last week.
People can sign the petition by going to www.parliament.vic.gov.au or to sign a hard copy, visit Ms O’Keeffe’s office at 318 Wyndham St, Shepparton.
People are also able to get hard copy sheets to share around to help get more signatures.
The petition closes on April 15.