This is almost certainly nothing more than public relations (ignore the legal analysis which is quite flawed). Stephen Harper has made it clear the issue will not be raised by his government ... of course, a private members bill might give cover. But still, I doubt it:
http://bit.ly/umRdNR
OTTAWA—A Conservative MP says Parliament should consider extending human rights to unborn children, something seen as an attempt to reopen the contentious debate around abortion laws.
"Canadian law provides no human rights protection whatsoever for children before the moment of complete birth," Stephen Woodworth said in a statement emailed to reporters Wednesday.
"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."
Woodworth doesn't explicitly mention the word abortion, but he gently suggests that it is time to "examine" the question of granting human rights protections to unborn children.
"Parliament has a responsibility to lead that examination," he wrote.
1 comment:
I think the guy is a moron for trying to bring this up right now, especially after Chretien's hysterical letter, but it still has a few legitimate points.
The law in Canada literally states that a child with one toe still inside the birth canal, even if she is breathing and crying, is not a person.
We can argue about the bills Mulroney tried to pass and why they didn't but the fact remains that there is a gaping hole in the law and it would seem reasonable and ethical to fill it in.
We won't, though. And why not? Because the political arena has been poisoned and was poisoned long before the evil Conservatives came along. The present political problems can be traced right straight to the abortion debates and then the gun control debates where our leftish friends in the Liberal party started labeling anyone who didn't agree with them rednecks, religious whackos, and gun nuts. Chretien's letter is just the latest example.
No, we cannot have an adult conversation on abortion law in Canada.
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