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MP Ken Epp responds to the Abortion Rights Coalition of Canada's Claims about Unborn Victims of Crime Bill

Asks how a 'women's rights' group can deny a violated woman basic human compassion and justice

OTTAWA, August 20, 2008 (LifeSiteNews.com) - MP for Edmonton-Sherwood Park, Ken Epp, released today a report responding to claims made by the Abortion Rights Coalition of Canada in an article by ARCC Coordinator Joyce Arthur entitled "Bill C-484 Endangers Abortion Rights and Women's Rights by Establishing Fetal Personhood."

Epp is the sponsor of Bill C-484, the so-called Unborn Victims of Crime bill, which would make it a separate crime to injure or kill an unborn child in a violent attack on the mother, in cases where the unborn child is wanted by the mother. Pro-abortion extremists, including Joyce Arthur, have claimed that the bill would endanger access to abortion in Canada, despite the fact that the bill specifically says that it has no bearing on abortion rights.

"The most deeply worrying aspect of what Ms. Arthur and her co-advocates against Bill C-484 are doing in flooding the public square with such articles is that the public and Members of Parliament, who have an especially important role to play in this debate, might not realize the serious errors of law in Ms. Arthur's arguments," said Epp.
 
"Bill C-484 does not make the fetus a 'person' as ARCC claims," Epp said.  "It does recognize the existence of the fetus, as a number of presently existing laws already do, including the Criminal Code and tort law.

"Importantly, Bill C-484, if it were to become law, would in fact not affect the law on abortion nor would it criminalize pregnant women for any harm they may cause to their own fetuses/unborn children. C-484 is only about abortion for those abortion-rights advocates who are so extreme in their views that they cannot get past their strident ideology to feel any compassion for a woman who is such a tragic victim."

Epp added, "Ms. Arthur and ARCC claim to be the great defenders of women's rights, and yet by opposing Bill C-484 they are robbing women of the added protection, in criminal law, of bringing their children safely into the world. They are denying justice to the woman who has been victimized by a brutal crime, one which has violently taken her yet-to-be-born but very much wanted child from her womb. How can Ms. Arthur and ARCC claim to speak for women when they work so hard to rob such a violated woman of basic human compassion and justice?"

Epp concluded, "The majority of Canadians, including the majority of Canadian women across the country, as demonstrated by three national polls, support this legislation. They see the Bill for what it really is: a sincere effort to support women who make the choice to bring their wanted child into the world in safety."

Environics conducted one of the three national polls referred to by Epp, where it was shown that 72% per cent of Canadians and 75% of women would support "legislation making it a separate crime to injure or kill a fetus during an attack on the mother".

Informative youtube video on Canadian Bill C-484 Unborn Victims of Crime:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=pRUVxMCBynI

Related LifeSiteNews.com coverage:

Canada's Abortion Militants Reiterate Condemnation of Unborn Victims of Crime Bill
http://www.lifesitenews.com/ldn/2008/aug/08080707.html

Pro-Abortion Liberal Introduces Bill to Counter Unborn Victims of Crime Bill
http://www.lifesitenews.com/ldn/2008/may/08051510.html

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