An Ontario Conservative MP says Parliament must take another look at whether unborn babies deserve to be treated as human beings, a move that could ultimately challenge the ability to terminate pregnancies with abortion. Stephen Woodworth, the member for Kitchener Centre, said in a news release Wednesday that a majority of Canadians wrongly believe the law protects the fundamental human rights of children before birth in the later stages of gestation.
“In fact, the opposite is true,” Mr. Woodworth says in his release. “Canadian law provides no human rights protection whatsoever for children before the moment of complete birth.”
He added that an unusual Canadian statute defines a human being as a child who has completely proceeded in a living state from the mother’s body, whether or not the child has breathed. “This means that in Canada a child is legally considered to be sub-human while his or her little toe remains in the birth canal, even if he or she is breathing.”
Mr. Woodworth points out the statute was crafted hundreds of years ago when medical science and principles of human rights were not sufficiently advanced to challenge such a law.
“The important question is whether this 400-year-old Canadian law is supported by 21st century medical science and principles of human rights,” the MP said. “Perhaps Canadians should at least examine this question.”
Mr. Woodworth said Parliament has a responsibility to lead that examination.
Reports out of the federal Conservative caucus after Prime Minister Stephen Harper won his majority government in the spring said Mr. Harper had warned his MPs he did not want backbench moves to reopen the abortion issue.
But many Conservative MPs remain strongly opposed to abortion.
In September, Maurice Vellacott, the MP for Saskatoon–Wanuskewin, accused International Planned Parenthood Federation (IPPF) of using “deceitful language on abortion” to dupe Canadians into believing that, because taxpayer dollars are going to countries where abortion is supposedly illegal, the money won’t be spent on abortions.
Saskatoon MP Brad Trost railed at the government for funding the IPPF. And Leon Benoit, the MP for Vegreville–Wainwright, has criticized the IPPF for honouring Margaret Sanger who founded the American Birth Control League, which later became the Planned Parenthood Foundation of America.
During the election, Mr. Harper tried to put to rest the notion that a Conservative government would reopen the abortion debate.
“As long as I am prime minister we are not opening the abortion debate,” Mr. Harper declared. “The government will not bring forward any such legislation and any such legislation that is brought forward will be defeated as long as I am prime minister.”
In 2010, Mr. Harper voted against a private-member’s bill introduced by Conservative MP Rod Bruinooge that would have that would add new Criminal Code penalties for those who coerce women to have an abortion.
Four years ago, Mr. Harper made a point of voting in favour of a private-member’s bill by Conservative MP Ken Epp that would have treated unborn babies as separate victims when their mothers are killed or attacked – a move that was widely seen as a backdoor bid to prevent abortions. Then his government blocked that bill.
Canada has no legal restrictions on abortion.
The Conservative government of Brian Mulroney tried in 1990 to pass a law that would severely limit access to abortions. It made it through the House of Commons but was defeated in the Senate in 1991. Since that time, it has been treated like all other medical procedures.
Original Article
Source: Globe
No comments:
Post a Comment