The death of Bill C-484
The election call has effectively killed Bill C-484, the proposal to create a separate offence for killing the baby when a pregnant woman is assaulted. MP Ken Epp is to be applauded for his courageous stand in the face of the full weight of the pro-choice lobby.
Sadly, this issue is unlikely to be revived after the election, no matter what the outcome.
The vehement response from pro-choice groups shows just how big the challenge is to get even the tiniest recognition that what is inside a pregnant woman is indeed a human being.
The bill was carefully crafted to exclude abortion. The wording could not have been more clear; it specifically excluded "conduct related to the lawful termination of the pregnancy of the mother of the child to which the mother has consented."
But that was not enough. The Canadian Medical Association came out against the bill on the basis that it would criminalize health professionals in relation to abortion. It is a little hard to fathom how a bill that specifically excludes abortion could somehow criminalize doctors who perform abortions, but they argued about the term "lawful." In my view, if a doctor is performing abortions that are not lawful or that the mother has not consented to, he or she should face criminal charges.
The Society of Obstetricians and Gynaecologists of Canada similarly objected to the bill on the basis that health professionals could face criminal charges for treating pregnant women. They said there would be a conflict between health care in the best interests of the mother and considerations of the unborn child.
Funny, when abortion was a criminal offence there were no charges against obstetricians or gynaecologists for health care of women. Incidentally, there is also a special exception in the bill for anyone acting in good faith to preserve the life or health of the mother.
But the crushing blow to the bill came not from the pro-choice groups, but from the Minister of Justice. Minister Rob Nicholson announced just days before an election call became clear, that he was withdrawing support for the bill. Instead, he proposed legislation to make pregnancy a consideration when sentencing.
Pro-choice advocates wrote commentaries and made media statements that Bill C-484 would affect abortion rights. If something is said often enough, it becomes thought of as the truth, even when it is not.
Even though polls showed that the majority of Canadians support the bill, the furor from pro-choicers was enough to scare off the Conservatives.
And what were the opponents of the bill so worried about? It is clear that they are opposed to any recognition that a baby in the womb is anything other than a blob of tissue. Once society recognizes that an unborn child is a baby, a human being, a sentient being, that changes everything.
Those who are adamant that a woman has an absolute "right to choose" also want to make sure that women do not think of their pregnancy as an unborn child. Women are much less likely, as crisis pregnancy centres well know, to have an abortion when they see the ultrasound or something else reminds them that this is a real human being.
While Ken Epp faced a huge mountain of a battle trying to get Bill C-484 passed, that battle is now over. Epp will not run in the next election. He is retiring after many years in the House of Commons.
This bill was not about abortion but it should be supported by those who value a woman's right to choose motherhood and have that decision respected and supported.
With some momentum from the public debate following Morgentaler's Order of Canada and Bill C-484, now is the moment to ensure life issues are election issues.
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