The killing of unborn children will now be considered a standalone offence as the Australian justice system takes a step closer to recognising the life of an unborn baby. The New South Wales (NSW) parliament has passed a law as the first jurisdiction in Australia, proposing that a foetus is separate from the mother, and causing its death is a discrete criminal offence. The Crimes Amendment Bill, also known as Zoe’s Law, is named after the daughter of Brodie Donegan, an NSW woman who was hit by a drunk driver on Christmas Day in 2009 and lost her unborn daughter eight months into her pregnancy. The new law will propose tougher penalties for criminals convicted of injuring pregnant women. Punishment for killing a foetus will range from five to 28 years in jail, and if both the mother and the baby are killed, the sentence can be extended by three years …