MP challenges Parliament to re-examine fetal rights
OTTAWA, ON—Conservative Member of Parliament Stephen Woodworth says the government has a duty to examine the Canadian law defining when a child becomes a human being. In a series of news releases, the MP for Kitchener-Centre raises the question of fetal rights in Canada.
The current law "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," explains Woodworth, MP for Kitchener-Centre. "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 says the "400-year-old law" is not consistent with modern medical science and human rights principles.
Woodworth's press releases touched off a storm of public debate in the media. His colleague, Essex MP Jeff Watson, has publicly supported Woodworth's call for renewed discussion of fetal rights. Many pro-life organizations have released statements in support of Woodworth's call for a national discussion.
Media discussions of fetal rights have also been fuelled by an editorial in the Canadian Medical Association Journal. A January 16 editorial by interim editor-in-chief Rajendra Kale proclaims: "'It's a Girl!' – could be a death sentence." Kale proposes that doctors not reveal the sex of a fetus before 30 weeks gestation in order to decrease "female feticide," the abortion of unborn females by parents who prefer sons.
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