Stephanie Ross – the partner of "Young Turk" and party numbers man Marcus Bastiaan – is preparing to challenge 65-year-old incumbent Gary Blackwood for his Gippsland seat of Narracan.

The looming preselection stoush has heightened concerns about a push to drag the Liberals further to the right, which many fear could hinder their chances  of defeating Labor at the 2018 Victorian election.

Ms Ross, 25, is aligned with the Menzies branch of the party, which is controlled by conservative warrior and former defence minister Kevin Andrews.

But while some argue that her preselection would give the Liberals some much-needed youth – and potentially help narrow the party's gender gap – others say her views on abortion are too "extreme".

For instance, in a January 2015 interview with online magazine Vice, Ms Ross, a Catholic, argued that women can "heal from rape" and that "there is no situation in which a child should be killed".

Asked if a rape victim should have their baby, she told the publication: "Well she'll never forget the abortion, which means she will never forget the rape. Whereas, so many women who are raped, they find love through their child, and they can grow or they can adopt and know they've given it a life. And they can heal from the rape, in a way.

"The underlying thing is, there are so many tragic circumstances that surround the issue," she said in the article, titled 'At Home With Three Young Anti-Abortion Protesters'. "I still think that because it is a human being, for me, personally there is no situation in which a child should be killed."

Ms Ross declined to comment when contacted by The Age, with party rules banning preselection candidates from speaking publicly in the media.

However, in a Facebook post confirming her nomination on Friday, she argued that in the face of the Hazelwood closure, the Narracan community "needs fearless advocacy and the Liberal Party needs new faces and a fresh approach to fight and win the 2018 election."

In an opinion piece penned for Fairfax Media in November, Ms Ross - a self-described anti-family violence advocate and the founder of aged care service Kookaburra Care - also argued that the focus of modern pro-life advocates should not be about criminalising abortion or shaming women, but about "lowering the rate of abortion by addressing causational issues and promoting alternatives."

Nonetheless, her preselection nomination is seen by some as part of a broader push by a group of Liberals aligned with party president Michael Kroger to redefine the power lines within the Victorian branch.

It also comes a week after The Age revealed that conservative Turnbull government MPs including Mr Andrews had been accused of recruiting members of hardline micro parties such as Family First and the Australian Christians – a move that some insiders described as "horrifying."

Mr Blackwood voted against the decriminalisation of abortion in 2008 and is known to be socially conservative on many issues. But as one source put it: "Where are we as a party if Gary Blackwood is not considered conservative enough?"

Mr Kroger and state Liberal director Simon Frost declined to comment about Ms Ross' pro-life interview, while Opposition leader Matthew Guy said: "I disagree with that view".