The chancellor of the national Catholic university is lobbying NSW MPs to vote for the controversial bill Zoe's Law, circulating a letter signed by three senior lawyers with strong links to the church in support of recognising a foetus as a living person under the Crimes Act.

Terry Tobin, QC, the chancellor of Notre Dame University, has attacked the NSW Bar Association for opposing Zoe's Law, saying the association has failed to listen to the interests of the unborn child. Bill Dawe, QC, a former president of the Catholic lawyers guild, the St Thomas More Society, co-signed the letter, along with Brian Sully, QC.

Shadow attorney general Paul Lynch: "Since when did protecting women's rights become a matter of conscience for the ALP?" Credit:Luke Fuda

Mr Tobin has lamented changes to abortion law in Victoria requiring doctors who object to the practice to refer a woman to another doctor who will do the procedure. He has publicly said the role of a Catholic university is to marshal arguments on the ''preciousness of human life'' in the national debate.

The emotion was raw as NSW Parliament began debating the private member's bill, MPs weighing up the need to protect women's rights, versus recognising the pain of a mother in the wake of the death of her foetus from a criminal act.