Diagnosis for the Heart: Why Precision Matters in Surrogacy Law

When the House rose recently, I was left reflecting on what it truly means to heal a society. Medicine and legislation share a common purpose: they both attempt to replace pain with peace, confusion with clarity, and despair with hope. As a doctor, I have always believed that medicine begins with love and ends with ethics. This Bill, in its essence, is about allowing love to do its work within a framework of safety.

The prescription of hope

In my years as a GP, I have seen the empty arms of those who cannot conceive and the anxious nights they endure. In medicine, hope is often the first prescription. It is an invisible medicine that breathes life back into those who have nearly given up. While some raise religious or moral objections, we must look at the reality of those seeking to build a family. We are opening a door to give peace to those who have struggled through a world of pain.

The risk of doing nothing is a society where the vulnerable are left unsupported. I see this daily in my clinic. Patients often come to me for insomnia, but as I dig deeper without force, I find the trauma of a broken childhood. They are unable to sleep because of nightmares; they are suffering from unrecognised PTSD. If we do not create a society that nurtures the loving bosom of a family, we are failing in our duty to ensure every child feels safe and healthy.

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The danger of unintended consequences

Legislation, like pharmacology, requires absolute precision. If a dose is too weak, the disease persists; if it is too strong, the cure itself becomes harmful. Clause 19 of this Bill introduces a penalty of two years imprisonment for providing services without a licence. While we must stop charlatans from turning miracles into merchandise, we must also beware of the law of unintended consequences.

Under current property confiscation laws, a two-year prison sentence could theoretically allow the state to seize entire fertility clinics, cryogenic tanks, and embryos. I recently saw a gentleman who stands to lose a home worth over eight hundred thousand dollars for a minor possession offence. We must ask if this is what Parliament intends. We cannot risk a medical catastrophe because our legal thread was pulled too tight, causing the surrounding tissue to die.

The living pulse of the law

We must also look at the heart of compassion within these clauses. Whether it is the consent of those who have passed away or the enforcement of surrogacy arrangements, the law must be a living organism. A law that is never acted upon is like a patient whose chart is signed but whose treatment never begins. It becomes a placebo: it looks effective and feels virtuous but changes nothing.

I view these legal clauses as the anatomy of a body. Clause 19 is the bones of accountability, Clause 72 is the heart of compassion, and Clause 111 is the nerves that transmit intention into action. If one part fails, the entire body suffers. We must ensure this legislation is flexible enough to breathe, yet firm enough to protect the most vulnerable among us.

You can read the full detail of my contribution to the House in the official Hansard record. To support our mission for a fairer, science-first Western Australia, I invite you to join Legalise Cannabis WA today.