Bill C-484 by Sarah

Just a quick note to let everyone know what's new with Bill C-484 (The Unborn Victims of Crime Act). For anyone who hasn't heard, Bill C-484 is a Private Member's Bill sponsored by Ken Epp, and it passed second reading on March 5, 2008. It would amend the Criminal Code by creating a new offense, so that anyone who attacks a pregnant woman and kills or injures her unborn child would be charged not only with an offense against the woman, but an offense against the unborn child. THIS IS HUGE. And, it's just common sense.

If I was pregnant, having baby showers and decorating a nursery, picking out baby names and putting money aside for diapers and baby clothes, and on the way to my car late at night some person jumped me with a knife and stabbed my stomach and killed my baby, I would be horrified to find out that s/he couldn't be charged with taking my baby away from me.

But, right now, in Canada, the only charge that could be laid would be aggravated assault. At least 15 pregnant women have made the headlines for being severely attacked since 2004, and only 2 of those women survived. One of them was stabbed multiple times with a sword in the stomach; she survived but her baby did not. The person who did it was only charged with assault. Another woman was beaten to death for refusing to have an abortion. This is a very real situation.

We already instinctively know that a woman who is expecting considers her unborn child to be extremely valuable. And yet, we don't reflect that in the law, because babies are invisible until they are born alive. To me, that's ridiculous. They aren't invisible in the natural; everyone knows when a woman is getting ready to birth and you can't tell that woman that she's not carrying a life inside of her. But the law does all the time.

Needless to say, I became very excited about Ken Epp's bill after I recovered from my shock that this was not already law. The bill doesn't attempt to make unborn children recognizable persons under the law (that would outlaw abortion because you can't kill people; hence C-484 creates an entirely new offense instead of adding unborn children to the list of homicide victims) but it would be the first bill that gives any protection to unborn children in the past 20 years.

The bill is currently in the Justice Committee awaiting debate and then third reading. As part of a campaign to ask Members of Parliament to support this bill, we have postcards on our website that can be downloaded and printed to mail to your MP.

We also have a 3 minute informational video plus mini-poster that is available for churches or other groups to promote awareness on Bill C-484.

AND, there is an on-line petition that is collecting signatures in support of Bill C-484, to be presented to Ken Epp in the fall. Please sign it! Unofficial polls cannot be tabled in Parliament, but they can actually have more influence, especially when they get media coverage.

Go here to sign the petition:

http://www.ipetitions.com/petition/BillC484/signatures.html