Yesterday, a NSW man was jailed for eight years for causing a car crash that killed a woman’s unborn baby and left her unable to have any more children. Jacqueline Sparks, 27, who was due to give birth in just a few weeks, was travelling in a car with her two brothers in the Wollongong suburb of Dapto in September last year when Marco Paulo Silvestri, affected by the drug ice, hit her car head-on.
The loss of Mia
Jacqueline and her two brothers Jonathan and Timothy all suffered catastrophic injuries, and Jacqueline’s daughter Mia died before she was able to take a breath. Jacqueline’s uterus was ruptured in the accident leaving doctors no choice but to perform an emergency hysterectomy shortly after the crash. Jacqueline will never be able to conceive another child.
The grieving mum told of her pain on Channel Ten’s The Project last night, saying baby Mia had inherited her skin and nose and her daddy’s hair. In a letter to the court, she told of her pain, writing:
“I have lost my daughter, my womanhood and my chance to ever become a mother naturally.”
Marco Paulo Silvestri was charged and convicted of grievous bodily harm caused to Jacqueline and her brothers, but not the grievous bodily harm or death of Mia, as no law exists that recognises the unlawful death of an unborn child.
In the eyes of the law, Mia’s death only counts as one of Jacqueline’s injuries, like a broken arm or fractured rib.
It’s not the first time
Another NSW woman, Brodie Donegan, knows Jacqueline’s experience better than anyone. On Christmas Day in 2009, while eight months pregnant, Brodie went for a short walk near her home when a woman affected by drugs ran off the road and hit her. Like Jacqueline, she lost her unborn baby daughter, Zoe. Since then she has campaigned relentlessly for the enactment ofZoe’s Law, which would mean someone who killed a foetus after 20 weeks gestation could be charged with its death.It’s not without its critics, as some believe it could infringe on a woman’s right to terminate a pregnancy.
Brodie told Kidspot her story:
“The first thing I remember was thinking that I’d fainted. Then I felt the pain. My leg was broken and it felt like it wasn’t attached to me. I had a shattered pelvis, head lacerations, a broken foot and ribs and much more. I remember my partner leaning over me and people telling him not to touch me.
I kept saying, “My baby, is my baby okay?” Two ladies were holding my hands. No one would talk about it. They kept saying, “Just hold our hands, don’t worry. It will all be okay.”
I was flown by helicopter to Royal North Shore hospital. The doctors found Zoe’s heartbeat. I kept asking about her, I bugged them and bugged them about getting her out. The doctor said, “I don’t want to be rude, Brodie, but my first concern is you.” It seemed harsh at the time but I know that’s what they have to do.
At about 3:30 PM, nearly five hours after the accident, they sent me for an emergency caesarean. When I awoke, I was asking and asking, “Where is my baby?” The nurses wouldn’t answer me. That’s when I knew. Instinctively I knew.
It was too late
They sent my partner in to tell me. We’d lost her. They wheeled me into recovery and I saw her. I held her. She was still warm and wrapped in a tiny blanket. She was beautiful, just like any other newborn except she wasn’t breathing. Her eyes were half open. I only held her for half an hour, my beautiful baby Zoe, and then they wheeled me away for more tests and operations. It felt like it wasn’t real, like I was in a movie. It had to be happening to someone else.
Baby Zoe on ultrasound. Image supplied.
Later, my elder daughter Ashlee – just two at the time – was brought in to see me. She was so frightened because I had tubes all over me and blood in my hair. I made a decision then that I had to stay strong for her. I just wanted to curl up in a corner and cry but then I wouldn’t be a mother for Ashlee. It would be like I had died that day too. I had to carry on. I had to recover for Ashlee, for myself, and for Zoe.
I didn’t want them to take her away
I was able to see Zoe only three times in the next 24 hours. They told me I could stay with her for as long as I wanted, but then the police came and wanted to take her away for an autopsy. I didn’t want to let Zoe go with the police. I was on a lot of medication and I was scared I wouldn’t remember her.
Justice for Zoe and Mia
Since that awful day we’ve fought hard to have unborn babies recognised as real people when someone else takes their life. But our Bill has stalled in the NSW Upper House, with the Greens in particular blocking its passing. Critics of the Bill say Zoe’s Law could impede upon a mother’s right to have an abortion but we don’t believe it would. I’ve even faced up to protesters carrying signs saying ‘No to Zoe’s Law’ alongside pictures of coat hangers. People applauded. It hurts me so much. I am pro-choice. I would never want to prevent a woman having a pregnancy termination.
I simply want justice for babies like Zoe and Mia. This is my baby they’re protesting against. They’re applauding my baby’s death.
Today, we try to move on. We have to. Christmas is particularly hard for us. Even hearing Christmas music in the shops takes me back to that day. I’m not a crier, but some days I cry. My little girl.
I wish Jacqueline strength
My heart breaks for Jacqueline Sparks and for her baby, Mia. I felt such guilt when I heard her story. I had another child already when Zoe died, and I went on to have another child. She will never be able to.
You never get over the loss of a child. Losing one in such an horrific, violent way, as Jacqueline and I did, adds to the trauma. The thing that helps the most is when people remember Zoe and call her by her name. I say that I parent two children, but I’m a mum of three.
We did have that baby. She wasn’t a dream. I am always going to be Zoe’s mum.”
