In December 2011, Stephen Woodworth, Member of Parliament for Kitchener Centre, went public with his intentions of introducing a motion that would require a study into the definition of a human being. In February of this year he introduced Motion 312 and the first hour of debate in the House of Commons was completed on April 26th.
Motion 312, if passed, would establish a Parliamentary Committee to study Canada’s 400 year old definition of a human being. Mr. Woodworth said, “Canada’s 400 year old definition of human being says children are not human beings until the moment of complete birth”. He went on to say, “I’ve concluded that modern medical science will inform us that children are in reality human beings at some point before the moment of complete birth. Canadians need to know there’s no human rights for children before complete birth.”
All parliamentarians need to be encouraged to support this motion, which finally puts the discussion where it belongs, in the House of Commons.
Please click the SimpleMail icon on the left to send a letter (content below) to your MP, the Justice Minister and the leaders of each party.
Dear, (Name of MP)
I think it is common knowledge that a child in the womb is a human being, and I find it incredulous that this fact isn’t recognized in the laws of Canada. I’d venture to say that most Canadians wouldn’t expect something other than a human to be reproduced by a human. It concerns me that our Criminal Code is based on 400 year old medical information, and so I fully endorse MP Stephen Woodworth’s motion that asks for Parliament to study our current definition of a human being.
It has been almost 25 years since the Supreme Court asked parliament to enact a law protecting children before birth, and it’s about time that we at least study the 21st century evidence. Mr. Woodworth’s motion is a step in the right direction, as it places the discussion about pre-born children in the proper setting, the House of Commons.
Canadians need to know that every law is a just law and every human being needs to be recognized as a human by Canadian law. I encourage you to vote in favour of Motion 312 so that Parliament can make the proper determination by amending Section 223 of our Criminal Code in such a way as to reflect twenty-first century medical evidence.
Sincerely,