baby istockThere has been a major breakthrough in child protection laws in Alabama in the United States with its Supreme Court ruling that the word "child" applies to both the born and the unborn.

The decision was affirmed overwhelming (eight votes to one) in the case of a woman who used cocaine during her pregnancy and whose baby tested positive for the drug at its birth.

In their ruling, Chief Justice Roy Moore and Justice Tom Parker denounced the US Supreme Court's abortion jurisprudence as:

i. invalid on the same grounds as the Nazi laws nullified at Nuremberg, and

ii. contravening the law of non-contradiction and therefore nonsensical

The ruling is similar to one handed down last year by the state Supreme Court in Ankrom v. State which declared that the "plain meaning of the word 'child' in the chemical endangerment statute includes unborn children."

This reaffirms the right to life of every unborn child. Click here for more information on the Alabama Supreme Court decision.

Abortion remains a significant problem throughout Australia, particularly in Victoria where law provides that abortion may be performed by a medical practitioner up to 24 weeks without reference to any criteria. Abortion after 24 weeks and up until the moment of birth, can be performed after confirmation by any two medical practitioners that the abortion is appropriate, having regard to all relevant medical circumstances and the women’s current and future physical, psychological and social circumstances.