Politics
Friday November 23, 2007
Internal Conservative Memo Suggests Canadian Government Open to New Unborn Victims Bill
TODAY'S HEADLINES
E-MAIL
PRINT
By John-Henry Westen
OTTAWA, November 23, 2007 (LifeSiteNews.com) - Last year the Harper Conservative Government opposed a bill to recognize the life of a child in the womb when a violent act is committed against a pregnant mother. However a new version of the bill proposed this year by another MP has at least tacit approval from the Conservative leadership, as evidenced by an internal memo sent to Conservative Members of Parliament.
LifeSiteNews.com has learned of an advisory memo sent to all Conservative Members by the Prime Minister's Office regarding The Unborn Victims of Crime Act, Bill C-484, a private members bill introduced Wednesday by Conservative MP Ken Epp.
The bill would allow criminal charges to be laid in the death or injury of an unborn child when the child's mother is the victim of a crime.
In May last year, Conservative MP Leon Benoit proposed similar legislation which was blocked by the Conservative Government before it was even allowed to come before Parliament for a vote. (see coverage: http://www.lifesitenews.com/ldn/2006/jun/06062804.html )
However, the memo suggests that the bill will not be similarly blocked and Conservative members will be permitted a free vote on the issue in the House of Commons.
The memo advises MPs: "It is up to each member of parliament to decide whether they will vote in support or opposition to this private members bill."
Insiders suggest that a key factor in the change of attitude on the bill seems to be the fact that in the new version, abortion is specifically exempted from the proposed legislation.
Even though the previous bill and the current one have nothing to do with abortion, the second version states: "For greater certainty, this section does not apply in respect of (a) conduct relating to the lawful termination of the pregnancy of the mother of the child to which the mother has consented."
The measure has broad support among Canadians of all political stripes and even has the support of the majority of those who support abortion on demand.
Despite the indication that the new bill may be permitted to come before the full House of Commons for a vote, analysts doubt that the measure has enough time to become law prior to an election call expected early next year.
Nonetheless, some of the families of women who were victims of deadly violent crime while pregnant are urging Canadians to immediately contact their Members of Parliament to urge them to support the Unborn Victims of Crime Act - Bill C-484.
See the full text of Bill C-484:
http://www.lifesitenews.com/ldn/2007/nov/071123a.html
Back to TopLatest Headlines
- Cardinal Rigali: You Can't Claim to be "Reducing Abortions" but Publicly Funding them in D.C.
- General Electric to Use Embryonic Stem Cells for Testing, Phase out Lab Rats
- Ohio Supreme Court Allows Planned Parenthood to Conceal Abortion Records in Sexual Abuse Case
- LifeSiteNews Canada Day and Independence Day Message. Taking a few days off. LSN returns Monday July 6
- Heroically Pro-Life Brazilian Archbishop's Resignation Accepted Under Cloud of Vatican Newspaper Misrepresentation
- Pro-Life Groups Announce New Colorado Personhood Initiative
- Judge Puts Kibosh on DC Gay "Marriage" Referendum
- Al Franken Win Hands Supermajority to Senate Democrats
- Group Funded by Canadian Bishops' D&P Joins with Others to Denounce the "Natural Family" and "Family Rights"
- Financially Troubled Planned Parenthood of El Paso Closes Doors
- Abortion Linked to Subsequent Pre-Term Births, New Research Again Confirms
- New Orleans Homosexual Couple Ask Fed. Court to Overturn Marriage Amendment
- Slim Hope Of New Ontario Progressive Conservative Party Leader Promoting Pro-Life, Pro-Family Issues
- Pope Accepts Resignation of Bishop Caught Involved in Homosexual Encounters
- Young Children Removed from UK Schools for "Inappropriate Sexual Behaviour"
- Northern Ireland Politician Cleared of Wrongdoing after Reiterating Christian Teaching on Homosexual Acts
- UK Conservative Leader Speaks at Gay Pride Fundraiser
- More Letters to the Editor on Canadian Catholic Development and Peace Scandal (July 1)
- Letters to the Editor - Readers Respond to Development and Peace Scandal
- Watch This Dramatic New Video on Catholic Bishops Conference Funding of Pro-Abortion Groups
Most Read this Week
- Homosexual Duke U. Director Charged with Offering Adopted 5-Year-Old for Sex
- Famed Fr. Corapi Calls Canadian Bishops' Dissent from Humanae Vitae "Catastrophic"
- Pope: It is a Childish Faith to Oppose the Church Teaching on Life and Family
- Heroically Pro-Life Brazilian Archbishop's Resignation Accepted Under Cloud of Vatican Newspaper Misrepresentation
- LifeSiteNews Detailed Response to Canadian Bishops' Whitewash Report on Development and Peace
- General Electric to Use Embryonic Stem Cells for Testing, Phase Out Lab Rats
- Young Children Removed from UK Schools for "Inappropriate Sexual Behaviour"
- Is Pro-Choice the New Pro-Life?
- Swedish Parents Won't Tell if Child is Boy or Girl as Gender Experiment
- Cardinal Rigali: You Can't Claim to be "Reducing Abortions" but Publicly Funding them in D.C.
MORE NEWS: 
LifeSiteNews.com Home Page Last 10 Days Archives Special Reports
Copyright © LifeSiteNews.com. This work is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution-No Derivatives License. You may republish this article or portions of it without request provided the content is not altered and it is clearly attributed to "LifeSiteNews.com". Any website publishing of complete or large portions of original LifeSiteNews articles MUST additionally include a live link to www.LifeSiteNews.com. The link is not required for excerpts. Republishing of articles on LifeSiteNews.com from other sources as noted is subject to the conditions of those sources.